Western Endoscope Reprocessing Systems and Workflow Solutions Market to Grow at a Robust CAGR of 9.5% to Reach a Revenue of €654.9 Million by 2022
Endoscope reprocessing systems and workflow solutions was a €416.4 million market in the top five Western European countries (UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy) in 2017. It is expected to grow at a robust CAGR of 9.5% to reach a revenue of €654.9 million by 2022. The market is segmented into two broad segments which are then divided into several subsegments as mentioned below:
Endoscope reprocessing solutions
Core equipment
- Automated Endoscope Reprocessors (AERs)
- Storage and Drying Cabinets for Consumables
- Disinfectants and Chemicals
- Detergents
Support Products
- Scope Transport Carts (Trays and Trolleys)
- Flushing Sinks
- Test Strips
- Cleaning Products (Wipes, Sponges, Brushes)
Workflow solutions
- Integration Software Solutions
- Track and Trace Solutions
The growth in AER revenue in EU-5 is driven by system replacements, owing to historically high levels of installed base, coupled with slower capacity expansion and newer hospital construction. Replacement sales for AERs held 63.4% share in 2017 which is expected to remain stable and account for 63.2% in 2022, indicating a near-equal increase in both replacement and new installation revenue during the forecast period.
EU-5 countries have been effectively moving towards a day-care based healthcare system over the past decade. This is evident in the fact that majority of endoscopy procedures in the region are conducted in day-care facilities, which accounted for 56.3% of total endoscopy procedural volume in EU-5. The trend is expected to further strengthen during forecast period, with day-care based endoscopy procedures growing at a faster CAGR of 6.6% as compared to hospital procedures, which will grow at 5.1% during 2017-2022. Consequently, the former’s share of procedural volume will grow from 56.3% in 2017 to 58.0% by 2022.
Healthcare watchdogs across EU-5 countries have been pushing for reduced endoscopy wait times amidst expected increase in procedural volume pressures on existing facilities. This has led to requirements of greater inventory of endoscopes and hence, greater need for specialized storage and drying systems to enhance scope storage times, reduce chances of re-contamination of stored endoscopes thus reducing unnecessary reprocessing requirements as well as enable on time readiness of endoscopes for patients.
While, the number of day care facilities has increased in EU-5, the market has not shown a proportionate growth in newer unit shipment of AERs, as is evident from the near-equal growth in replacement and new installation. This is due to the fact that a comparatively lower proportion of European day-care facilities have their own decontamination units. The ratio of the number of endoscope decontamination facilities to the number of day-care facilities in EU-5 is estimated to be around 0.44, indicating 1 decontamination unit for every 2.5 endoscopy units. The ratio has been found to be around 0.55 for countries such as the US.
The lower number of decontamination facilities in day-care units, indicates higher prevalence of outsourcing of reprocessing loads to bigger neighboring facilities. Additionally, an uptick in commercial outsourcing of endoscope reprocessing over the past 2-3 years, has led to a further decrease in the need for an already size-restricted day-care facility to have its own decontamination facility.
An alternative trend is the rise in the number of big, technology-laden "Mega Hospitals" in Europe, coupled with the increasing consolidation of hospital systems across these countries. This has led to financially strong and operationally stable entities that are willing to invest in cutting-edge next-gen technologies with proven records of cost and efficiency savings and enhancement of staff and patient experience. This trend has led to mentionable adoption of various newer technologies such as automation, robotics, and advanced digital technologies into CSSDs and reprocessing departments leading to greater evolution of the overall market.
