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Medical Equipment Market Report 2002
Key Note Publications Ltd, Jan 2002
The UK market for medical equipment and consumables is a price-sensitive, competitive, and technology-driven market. It is supplied by an industry dominated by a number of increasingly globalised companies. In 2001, medical equipment and supplies constituted around 4% of all NHS expenditure on healthcare. There was an overall market growth of 5.9% in the same year, to £2.32bn.
The market is diverse, with a broad product base and many technologies serving a variety of needs. There are two main product sectors. Medical equipment consists of medical instrumentation and equipment, from high-end electromedical systems, to surgical and medical instruments. Medical consumables is the second sector. This includes high consumption, low-cost, single-use disposable products. Both product groups are used in a wide range of healthcare settings, but dominated in the UK by the public healthcare service, the NHS. Other customers include the independent acute care sector and the residential and nursing home care sector.
The market is regulated at a number of levels for product performance, quality and safety, as well as manufacturing processes. Standards are high. Progress in global harmonisation and the mutual recognition procedures in Europe are lowering trade and marketing barriers.
In the past, developments in medical technology were perceived to add to the cost of services by expanding the scope and range of care. With the increasing use of health technology assessment and the sophistication of cost benefit and cost utility analysis, a clearer picture of the role of medical equipment is becoming evident. It is becoming apparent that in many instances, such as diagnostic screening, monitoring and surgery, early diagnosis of illness can lead to less complex and less costly treatment, as well as better outcomes, ultimately saving expenditure. Microsurgical techniques can reduce recovery times, reducing patient hospital care and improving efficiency by increasing patient throughput.
Although funding problems in the UK healthcare services are leading to service cuts, rationalisation and cutbacks, there is increasing awareness, both from the public and from the Government, that funding must increase. The Government has already earmarked significant increases in funding for healthcare services and has recognised that much more needs to be done. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is leading to the building (and equipping) of a significant number of hospitals, replacing the old crumbling infrastructure.
In spite of this, the medical equipment market is likely to remain cost-sensitive and competitive for the foreseeable future, although there will be a strong market need for products that can demonstrate clear cost and clinical benefits. The trend towards globalisation is likely to continue as companies are driven by the need to acquire new technologies and maximise their geographic and market coverage. However, the basic need for healthcare services (and supplies) is intrinsic, and the need is increasing. As a result of this, market growth in the medical equipment and consumables market is set to reach an overall annual growth of 8.8% by 2006, with certain sectors of the market significantly higher.
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