There is yet another essential piece of information from a survey by Stifel that hints at supply chain disruptions and staff shortages. The survey emerges as an eye-opener and confirms something the entire industry is aware of. The lack of staff and persistent supply chain disruptions has negatively influenced procedure volume growth, especially during the 3rd quarter. These limiting factors are expected to impact the financial results of the MedTech sector.
The survey had 150 surgeons in the U.S working on orthopedics, general surgery, and interventional cardiology.
Most participants informed that a shortage of staff primarily limits the procedure volume growth during the third quarter. Again, it seems interventional cardiology is the one most affected.
Needless to say, the last two years have been quite restrictive in nature for the worldwide healthcare industry. The United States also faced a similar situation. What caused the most significant impact is the coronavirus pandemic. Now that the problem is less intense, industry observers were optimistic about substantial growth in procedure volume. Yet, it seems the shortage of staff and significant disruptions in the supply chain have been the limiting factors.
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The survey also hints that the overall situation will likely improve toward the fourth quarter. As a result, TAVR surgeons will be associating themselves with their peers in other specialized areas in predicting growth during the final months of this year.
The expected increase in robotic procedures is the other feature likely to promote growth. Yet, more funding can be easily accommodated. About 20% of the participants (general surgeons) were of the opinion that spending is constrained on Intuitive Surgical’s Da Vinci robot surgical systems.
Lastly, a full recovery may take even longer. Experts feel the industry may have to wait until 2024 for this to happen.