SURGICAL DRAPES AND GOWNS MARKET ANALYSIS

The increasing prices of surgical drapes and gowns has been presenting a major challenge for the growth of the global surgical drapes and gowns market. As per numerous industry experts and hospital administrators, surgical drapes and gowns are among the regular consumables and disposables that see constant rise in prices frequently. This increase in prices is primarily attributed to rising costs of raw materials like non-woven fabrics, cotton and polymers which are used extensively in manufacturing surgical drapes and gowns. Since drapes and gowns need to be disposed after single use as per standards of sterility, the higher product prices directly impact the budgets of hospitals and healthcare facilities. When input costs are increasing consistently, medical device companies are compelled to regularly hike the MRP of their drape and gown offerings in order to maintain adequate profit margins. As a result, many large public hospitals and those located in small towns find it difficult to set aside higher funds every year just for purchasing drapes and gowns. In turn, they either reduce the number of surgeries or compromise on quality by shifting to cheaper alternatives available in the market. The rising economic burden of healthcare combined with low governmental health spending has already made quality medical services inaccessible for a significant section of population globally.

Market Opportunities: Growth potential in ambulatory service centers

Ambulatory surgical centers are poised to drive significant growth in the surgical drapes and gowns market. Ambulatory or same-day surgery allows many procedures to be performed outside of a hospital setting, with patients able to return home the same day. This streamlines healthcare delivery and saves costs compared to traditional inpatient surgery. The number of ambulatory surgical centers has been increasing steadily over the past decade. For example, estimates from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2021) found the number of ambulatory care facilities increased over 20% from 2010 to 2019 across OECD countries. As more complex surgeries migrate from hospitals to these centers, it increases the need for surgical drapes, gowns and other sterile products. The future trends point to even stronger growth potential for this sector. Healthcare systems globally are seeking ways to manage rising costs while still meeting patient demand. Same-day or ambulatory surgery addresses this need by freeing up expensive hospital beds for more serious cases. The COVID-19 pandemic also demonstrated the value of decentralizing healthcare infrastructure. All of these factors are expected to further drive expansion of ambulatory surgical centers in the coming years. For instance, projections from the World Bank (2022) estimate that the healthcare demand will rise sharply with global population growth, aging populations, and increasing rates of non-communicable diseases. This increased workload will necessitate greater optimization of surgical resources through greater adoption of ambulatory models of care.