Many Factors To Affect Market For Surgical Products

New shifts in surgical volumes, techniques, and managed-care policies will require careful navigation from medical-related manufacturers, according to a new report. The report by Medical Data International Inc. (MDI), Surgical Procedure Volumes in the U.S., offers insights into emerging demand for surgically driven products through the year 2002. Some things to watch for, according to MDI:

• The number of surgical procedures in U.S. hospitals keeps declining, while the number of procedures in outpatient centers increases. Improved technology, managed care directives, and patients' wishes for a fastest return to work will continue to influence which surgeries are being performed, and where.
• But managed care firms will reevaluate minimally invasive surgery techniques, looking at their true ability to lower costs vs traditional procedures or drug therapy.
• Contrary to supply-and-demand logic, while demand for endolaparoscopic procedures rises, equipment prices and profit may shrink. That's due to capitation rates, uniform prices imposed by managed care agreements.