New needs in health management boost demand for telemetry
The European telemetry equipment market is in a developmental stage and is dominated by a few large players. Growth rates are currently low but will rise substantially in the coming years. This is due to an increase in Europe’s aged population and the need for cost containment measures.New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, European Telemetry Equipment Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $115.00 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach $179.00 million in 2014.
“The future of the European telemetry equipment market depends on standardising frequencies for telemetry devices across the region in order to avoid user interference,” notes Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Janani Narasimhan. “Ageing baby boomers will be the catalysts in the rapid move towards telemetry.”
Telemetry also offers substantial cost savings to physicians, hospitals and home health organisations monitoring their patients. At the same time, by constantly 'being connected', patients are more involved in the decision-making process regarding their treatment as well as in the overall management of their health.
A lack of awareness and limited research is however still hampering a wider uptake of telemetry. The decision to purchase telemetry equipment in European hospitals is made solely by anaestheticians and cardiac specialists. The former focus on ICUs and compatibility with high acuity patients, while the latter focus on cardiac related requirements.
“Diagnostic related group (DRG)-based, case-specific reimbursement, restrains the demand for telemetry equipment,” adds Narasimhan. “Currently, the reimbursement of diagnostic imaging procedures in Europe is based on the site of care.”
The outcome of DRG-based reimbursement is that only a fixed amount of money is allocated on a case-specific basis. The bulk of medical expenditure is borne by the patient.
For most hospitals, expanding the ICU is not an intelligent solution and multi-parameter telemetry offers a cost-effective alternative to solving the issue of increasing the patient to caregiver ratio. An increase in the turnover of critical care patients in hospitals will benefit from a multi-parameter telemetry setting.
For more information, www.patientmonitoring.frost.com
