The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic was found in Wuhan, China. This pandemic has influenced the whole planet with its significant impacts on the economy and businesses across the globe. The COVID-19 spread worldwide in an unprecedented way due to its high infectious and contagious nature. During this pandemic of COVID-19, hospitals maintain their better facility of equipment like medical carts for multiple purposes. According to the situation report of 19th October 2021 by WHO stated 240 million cases of Coronavirus patients had been reported globally, and 4.89 million patients are dead due to the coronavirus. America is estimated to have the highest range of 92 million cases, and 2.3 million death cases were reported. More than 4.21 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered globally in around 180 countries all around the world. The outbreak of COVID-19 is having a huge impact on the healthcare and supply chain of various products, including medical carts.
Various types of medical carts such as crash or code carts, anesthesia carts, IV carts, bedside carts, treatment carts, point of care carts, and medication carts are used in medical applications. They play a vital role in hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes for moving and storing medications, equipment, and medical records for numerous medical situations.
Impact on Price
The COVID 19 had a devastating impact on the global economy. Several establishments have to remain shut while others scale down the operations or put on hold expansion plans as they try to survive this unprecedented crisis. However, the rising chronic diseases, surgical cases, and hospital admissions have increased the usage of medical carts drastically globally. The key companies are also maintaining fair prices, due to the high demand, but prices may vary slightly due to supply chain disruption.
- As of 9th November 2021, Medical Device Depot, Inc. sells Harloff Medication cart for USD 4,584.13, which was reduced from their previous amount USD 5,425.00
The COVID-19 impact has not negatively affected the price of medical carts products at a higher level because of advanced online sales and innovative delivery options available with utmost safety concerns to major healthcare centers, hospitals, clinics, and ambulatory surgical centers.
Impact On Demand
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the medical carts market from its niche pedestal to the mainstream sector. Medical carts were in high demand due to rising hospital requirements in various regions. The advancements in research and development in medical equipment have surged the market's growth over the past few decades.
But in the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown scenario, it has become a challenge for every healthcare professionals and patients to give and receive advanced treatments on daily basis. Several companies operating in other domains are eager to enter, and some have already entered the landscape of the medical carts market to increase their revenue by meeting the emergent need for numerous applications, especially for the COVID-19 positive patients.
For instance,
- The American Hospital Association report published in January 2021 states that a total number of hospital admission in the U.S. were estimated to be 36,241,815 for the year 2021. Almost every hospital in the U.S. is equipped with advanced carts for multiple medical applications to meet healthcare professionals' daily requirement and convenience, especially for COVID-19 patients and treatments.
The demand is further rising in the past few decades as there is increasing usage of medical carts in hospitals, clinics, trauma centers, and ambulatory surgical centers. Hence, the medical carts demand has always stayed high as many hospitals increase with the requirement of better equipment facilities.
Impact on Supply Chain
The COVID-19 has created a significant impact on the supply chain of various types of medical carts. The sudden attack of COVID-19 and its subsequent implications for restrictions on trade and movement of goods has resulted in a shutdown of vast countries in the world, resulting in disrupted supply chains due to limited raw materials and workforce, and slow down or stopping of manufacturing. Moreover, several companies are retooling priority manufacturing to produce other essential medical supplies and equipment such as vaccines, ventilators, and medical carts for many hospitals, clinics, or emergency care hospitals for treating patients with severe requirements. The government allows moments of transport vehicles to import and export such medical carts to healthcare sectors as during pandemic hospitals and healthcare professionals required specific carts for easy mobility of medicines and medical data or records.
To minimize supply chain crises, the government has been firmly monitoring the supply chain to assume that the COVID-19 outbreak may adversely impact the supply chain of medical products. However, because medical carts are mandatory for convenient nursing applications in various medical cases, they are passing the government's stringent rules. In the current scenario of lenient regulations over transportation facilities in multiple countries of the world after the vaccination processes, the supply of medical carts has regained its speed further. Additionally, during this crucial situation, many organizations are looking forward to improving and diversifying the supply chain model in all aspects. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has shown the various ways for supply chain management, which may be effective by innovative solutions initiated by market players.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS BY MANUFACTURERS
The key players engaged in the global medical carts market are making improvements to keep the speed during COVID-19. They are taking every single choice cautiously so the development can be expanded on a consistent schedule for the market. The manufacturers are likewise giving a great deal of consideration in the improvement of inventive items that can be utilized for the attractive impacts. Organizations working in the medical carts market embrace new strategies, including joint effort, arrangements, association, and market development, to improve their business.
For instance,
- On 11th May 2020, Omnicell announced on their website that the COVID-19 unpreceded crisis has also opened choices for unpreceded partnerships to sustain their supply during a pandemic. The company is working on many collaborations to maintain the health and well-being of the customers, patients, and employees, also doing their protective part to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Additionally, the manufacturers are also taking crucial steps to ensure the availability of raw materials by and also they have to look into the quality of products by following the proper regulatory guidelines by their specific government authorities.
Manufacturers need to take necessary steps about production processes, shifting to other facilities if required, changes in quality assurance, costs and procedures related to screening of workforce and offering of care if needed, changes in working hours, and others to maintain their supply chain during a pandemic.
Even during the pandemic, the companies are making many initiatives to resume their products manufacturing and trial over the market to further strengthen their position.
Conclusion
The impact of the novel COVID 19 virus is expected to leave a long-lasting effect on the healthcare sector. The outbreak of COVID 19 prompted citizens to deal with confusion regarding the virus and its management. The virus poses a risk to for human life, and has caused economic distress and severe emotional strain. It produced a ripple effect that gave rise to a new collection of requirements and needs that were not much needed earlier and the essential one being the medical carts of various sizes, advancements, and types, which is highly needed in hospitals, clinics, surgical centers, and emergency care wards due to rising disorders and hospital stay or treatment cases globally.
It is estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak having positive impact on the growth of the market owing to the high requirement for medical carts especially in various hospitals but the supply chain disruption has been challenging. However, many other medical carts which are used in surgeries and Emergency intensive care unit wards are made available for hospitals using innovative transportations and online sales during the pandemic. The current priority in most hospitals is given for COVID-19 treatments as the surge of COVID-19 cases is still persistent, which also increases usage of medical carts for numerous medication supplies.
Moreover, many international governments and healthcare organizations have supported the supply of these products due to high priority in crucial cases. Many government bodies and significant market players are closely associated with industries for safe packaging of products considering contagious nature of virus and improvement of future economics in various region globally.
