The Impact of COVID-19 on the Medical Equipment Market

Since its emergence on the global scene, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of public life: healthcare, government, business, and education. The impact of COVID-19 on the medical equipment market is especially noteworthy, considering that its impact directly affects our ability to fight the virus. Here, we examine just a few key considerations.

Respiratory Equipment Shortages

One of the biggest initial responses to COVID-19 was the staggering demand for medical equipment. In the first few months of the pandemic, hospitals worldwide were faced with shortages of respiratory equipment, testing supplies, and personal protective equipment. This disrupted supply chains and caused other non-medical facilities to create medical products such as face masks and medical-grade hand sanitizer.

Clinical Trial Backup

The FDA has regulations regarding releasing new medical equipment. Under their recommendations, Class III medical devices—devices that are necessary to sustain life—must undergo more rigorous testing to enter the equipment market. Part of this approval, premarket approval, requires clinical testing.

However, manufacturers typically perform this testing in hospitals, and hospitals are largely backed-up due to the thousands of COVID-19 patients residing there. This has made it difficult for those developing new ventilators, which are Class III medical devices, to get on the market, adding to the equipment shortage. Fortunately, the FDA is now working with companies to get new ventilators out for medical use.

Demand Increase for Portable Devices

Shelter-in-place warnings sparked a huge surge for at-home medical care. This includes patients monitoring their health and taking part in telemedicine for other healthcare issues. Thus, an indirect impact of COVID-19 on the medical equipment market was an increased demand for portable medical devices. Remote patient monitoring devices, glucose monitoring devices, and insulin pumps are among the devices that have increased in demand.

However the pandemic has impacted your facility; Med One’s medical equipment services provide rental equity to help you meet the demand in these unprecedented times.