The Home Medical Equipment Market

Report Highlights

• The global home medical equipment market increased from about $13.9 billion in 2006 to an estimated $14.6 billion in 2007. It should reach $20.4 billion by 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%.
• The United States and Canada together form the largest geographical market for HME, i.e, 34.2% of the global market.
• Among the various diseases managed or treated with HME, diabetes accounts for the largest share (i.e., 46.2% in 2006) of the global HME market.

INTRODUCTION

Home medical equipment (HME) is a multibillion dollar market that is poised for rapid growth as the population ages and as growing number of older people are financially able to live in their own homes for as long as possible, rather than going into a nursing home or other institutional care facility. These demographic and attitudinal shifts in the health care market are reinforced by such trends as the rising cost of institutional care, and a growing receptivity to home health care among physicians and private and public insurers.

SCOPE OF STUDY

This report contains:

• Descriptions of the main types of home medical equipment (HME) that have been commercialized to date including assistive devices, therapeutic devices, monitors, sensors and telemetry devices
• The current market status of HME, trends and forecasts for growth over the next 5 years
• A discussion of novel technologies along with a thorough patent analysis
• An evaluation of regulatory factors that will drive future demand in the industry
• Information about major manufacturers and distributors of HME.

INFORMATION SOURCES

The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from manufacturers and distributors of HME, multi-lateral and government agencies, care givers, insurance companies, and other knowledgeable sources. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and on-line databases to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.

The base-year for analysis and projection is 2006. With 2006 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2007 to 2012. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the section on Detailed Market Projections.

All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2006 constant dollars.

ANALYST CREDENTIALS

The author of this report is Andrew McWilliams. Mr. McWilliams, a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm of 43rd Parallel LLC, is the author of several other Business Communications Company studies of health care and related industries, including: Microelectronic Medical Implants: Products, Technologies & Opportunities; Medical Robotics and Computer-Assisted Surgery; Trends in the Noninvasive and Minimally Invasive Medical Device Market; Patient Monitoring; and Smart and Interactive Textiles.