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Medical Electronics Headed for Healthy Future Growth
June 1, 2010 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
— This issue of the Henderson Forecast summary explores the rising costs of healthcare and the medical electronics market. Medical electronics growth slowed during the recession but is surging back, thanks to improved device design, expanded healthcare coverage in the U.S., and other factors.
The long-term ramifications of aging are unsettling and unrelenting. Whereas only 12.9% of the US population was 65 years old or older in 2009, 15.8% will be so by 2019. By that latter year, 53 million US citizens will be on Medicare. It is well known that the cost of healthcare has gone up dramatically.
There is something of a bio-feedback system at work in the industry. That is, advances in medical technology allow people to live longer. While they are enjoying more golden years, the cost of maintaining their aging bodies jumps as repairs for failing body parts such as hips and knees become more pressing. And a wide range of drugs can help seniors maintain an active life style while simultaneously keeping the Grim Reaper at bay. Those factors are expected to drive the cost of US healthcare up from17.3% of GDP in 2009 to 20.2% in 2019.
While the medical electronics industry may be resistant to recessions, it is not entirely immune. Consequently, U.S. production of medical electronics decelerated from a 7.0% rate of growth in 2008 to 4.8% in 2009. But the economic recovery, along with expanded US healthcare coverage and new technologies that provide device portability and remote monitoring, will drive growth rates considerably higher during the next few years. A cyclical peak of 9.7% is predicted for 2011. All the major equipment sectors are forecast to enjoy excellent results with the help of booming demand from developing countries.
The Henderson Forecast Summary is provided free of charge as an industry service by Henderson Ventures, publishers of the Henderson Electronic Market Forecast newsletter. For more information, visit http://www.hendersonventures.com
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