The report found that there is also an increasing demand for hospital beds in home care settings.
As a result of increasing demand stemming from the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the global hospital beds market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% between 2019 to 2025, according to a Reportlinker report released Tuesday.
The report indicated that the U.S. hospital beds market is dealing with a scarcity of supply, citing how contagious the virus is, the need to keep infected patients in isolation medical wards, and the use of advanced medical facilities for "critically ill patients to monitors vital signs, provide mobility and comfort to the patient population."
The report found that there is also an increasing demand for hospital beds in home care settings as well as "favorable government initiatives" that have contributed to the projected market growth.
Related: Two-Thirds of U.S. Hospital Beds Are Already Occupied
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The CAGR for hospital intensive care unit (ICU) beds is faster than that of non-intensive beds, according to the findings, due in large part to "increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and patient admissions in critical care settings."
While ICU beds accounted for 73% of the market's growth in 2019, curative beds, used primarily for patients receiving care for bacterial infections, radiation therapy for cancer or dialysis treatment, accounted for 78% of the market's value last year.
Reportlinker expects that the increasing prevalence of cancer care will lead to increased hospital admissions and result in a greater demand for specialized curative beds.
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The need for an adequate supply of hospital beds became a major concern for provider organizations when the amount of coronavirus cases began to rise across the country in mid-March.
An Array Advisors analysis projected that most states would run out of available ICU hospital beds by mid-April.
Similarly, states were expected to face medical-surgical hospital bed shortages by the second week of April.
Related: See When States Will Face Hospital Bed Capacity Shortages During COVID-19 Outbreak
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.