Market widens for home care devices, consultancy says

Acknowledging the rapid ageing of the population in the region, governments are encouraging patients to opt for home care by offering incentives, subsidies and tax cuts. While improving patients’ quality of life, home care also reduces the burden on the healthcare infrastructure, workforce and expenditure in chronic-care settings.

Frost & Sullivan’s “Analysis of the Asia Pacific Home Care Devices Market” finds that the market earned US$967 million (Bt28.8 billion) last year and estimates this to reach $1.21 billion in 2016. It covers the mobility aids, respiratory, intravenous-therapy and incontinence-management segments across Thailand, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.

Apart from financial considerations, patients are also opting for home care because of technological advancements and convenience in mobility aids and incontinence devices. 

Product and technology improvements have also resulted in innovative mobility aids including motorised vehicles such as electric wheelchairs and electric scooters, non-motorised vehicles such as manual wheelchairs and other equipment like crutches and walkers.

“Newer, lighter and stronger materials providing rigid but lightweight wheelchairs encourage more patients to use them, as they last longer than conventional wheelchairs,” Poornima Srinivasan, a healthcare consultant at Frost & Sullivan, said yesterday.

“Crutches and walking sticks also use superior materials to enhance product use and widen the customer base.”

Despite these multiple advantages, home-care devices’ market penetration in Asia and the Pacific is hampered by reimbursement issues. While some developed countries provide cash or subsidies, developing countries have no established reimbursement schemes.

Many Asia-Pacific countries have rigid reimbursement policies regarding home-care products, and the introduction and pricing of the products are decided by the government. Therefore, it is vital that stakeholders and end users are educated by companies about their products’ cost-effectiveness, ability to improve the patient’s quality of life and need to revamp reimbursement policies.

Device manufacturers could also design and introduce cost-effective products customised to the needs of the region to enhance penetration and revenue growth.

“Domestic manufacturing or partnerships with local manufacturers at competitive rates will facilitate their entry in emerging economies,” Srinivasan said.

“Collaborations with local market participants will also improve distribution and give a foothold in countries with significant growth potential.”