World Market for Medical Beds

21 Dec 2011 • by Natalie Aster

One of the most serious questions is what will happen to reimbursement for medical beds. In addition to health care reform, Medicare, Medicaid and managed care organizations are increasing pressure to both control health care utilization and to limit reimbursement.

According to the report “World Market for Medical Beds” by Kalorama Information сhanges in reimbursement programs including retroactive and prospective rate and coverage criteria changes, competitive bidding for certain products and services, and other changes intended to reduce the program expenditures testing will likely continue to fuel growth in combination with an aging population, increasing disease incidence and prevalence, and increasing life expectancy.

Bed designs such as those mentioned above will continue to improve to meet evolving patient and caregiver demands. Touch screens are becoming more intuitive and integrated and beds are moving into the real-time and patient tracking realm.

A University of New Hampshire professor's research into hospital bed technology could soon represent a giant leap forward in patient care. John LaCourse, professor and chair of UNH's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is currently negotiating with hospital bed manufacturers to adopt his programmed algorithm technology, which could become the basis for "smart" computerized hospital beds.

These smart hospital beds would communicate with and respond to medical devices that monitor a patient's condition. For example, a sleeping patient moves, causing a drop in blood pressure. The blood pressure monitor would communicate this change to the bed and the bed, in turn, would move up or down until the patients' blood pressure is stabilized.

The majority of the expected increase in the number of insured is expected to occur after 2014, as the insurance exchanges open and Medicaid eligibility is broadened. The increase in coverage could translate into increased utilization and associated use of medical beds. It is anticipated by industry participants that these changes may adversely affect their business.

Report Details:

World Market for Medical Beds
Published: November 2011
Pages: 150
Price: US$ 2,995.00

More information can be found in the report “World Market for Medical Beds” by Kalorama Information.

To order the report or ask for sample pages contact [email protected]

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