Analysis of the US and EU5 Hospital Operating Room (OR) Products and Solutions Market, 2017

Transforming OR Product Lines to OR Efficacy Solutions

The key issue being debated in the healthcare industry today is how to transform a seemingly simple operating room (OR) into a technology-fueled, infection-free, and sleek surgical environment. A true smart hospital focuses on 3 major areas, namely, operational efficiency, clinical excellence, and patient-centricity, with technological advancements being leveraged to derive smart insights. For clinical excellence, solutions must be implemented so that doctors and nurses can perform their tasks efficiently. Besides using state-of-the-art medical equipment, the general surgery, emergency, radiology, and intensive care departments, and the outpatient department as well need to implement solutions to make processes faster and more streamlined, which will help achieve the best patient outcomes. Effective OR solutions must also provide patient-centric services that are not necessarily aligned to the clinical outcomes; for example, smart patient rooms, services that enhance patient well-being during their hospital stay, and a better overall hospital design that will remove the fear of being hospitalized - these are crucial to patient satisfaction.

At present, OR transformation and digitization are facing similar challenges. Apart from the obvious financial requirements, there is the absolute need for interoperability, the risk of cybersecurity, and the lack of expert resources. Hospitals struggle with the major question of where to begin. A comprehensive solution set needs to be formulated as a strategy plan, and small parts of the solution can be applied, keeping the systems open and interoperable for future solutions to be easily integrated. Offering a bundled range of OR products decreases the average sales price for components and solidifies market share.

On average, hospital costs for stays with OR procedures are more than twice the cost for an inpatient stay without an OR procedure. An hour in an OR, depending on the procedure can cost $150-250, excluding resource cost. Hence, the OR accounts for approximately 60% of hospital revenue. As hospitals envision investing in solutions that integrate and collaborate multi-disciplinary units and devices for optimal resource and space utilization, companies such as Stryker and Getinge are transitioning their offerings from OR products to OR solutions. As pressure builds to make healthcare expenditure more stringent, virtual consulting platforms and augmented reality will become more mainstream to improve access in terms of diagnosis, enhance predictability, and offer accurate treatment planning.

This research service is segmented into OR workflow solutions, OR surgical workplace solutions, and OR services, and these include sub-segments such as visualization solutions, equipment navigation systems, instrument tracking devices, integrated workstations, robotic-assisted surgery devices, surgical tables, surgical lights, surgical booms, OR modular room systems, and OR management solutions. The geographic scope is the United States and the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom). The study period is from 2015 to 2022.