Global Hospital Beds Market - Product Types, Market Trends, and Leading Global Players

The global hospital beds market has been facing significant competition in the last one decade. It is expected that the global market for hospital beds will reach a market value of approximately $4 billion by the year 2017. Hospital beds mostly include specially designed beddings and mattresses that are used for medical purposes to provide relief to patients when they are hospitalized. Hospital beddings are used mostly in clinics and hospitals; however, they are also used by patients attended in their own homes. The household retail sector today, includes the market for hospital beds which offers a wide variety of innovative beds and mattresses. 

Some of the specialized hospital beds include turning and legacy beds, wheels and standing beds which ensure comfortable hospitalization. A few of these special beds are also used for patients suffering from spinal issues. Connected electronic devices, bed height adjusting mechanism, electronic buttons and adjustable side rails are some of the primary features of hospital beds. 

Global Hospital Beds Market - Product Segmentation

The global hospital beds market is segmented on the basis of the usage of hospital beds like pediatric beds, pressure relief beds, general purpose beds and birthing beds. Pediatric beds are highly specialized forms of hospital beds that comprise wire panted steel involving mattress holders. Pressure relief hospital beds are used for reducing ulcer risks from the human body and they are highly powered mattresses. 

Flexibility of beds is enhanced with the help of general purpose beds which consist of stiff boards. Birthing beds are used for pregnant women. Besides these types of beds, there are two highly specialized segments in the global hospital beds market which include bariatric beds and air fluidized and low air loss bed systems. Bedding and mattress overlays and replacements are the other peripheral segments in the market for hospital beds. 

Market Drivers and Restraints in the Global Hospital Beds Market

The global hospital beds market is driven by increasing healthcare expenditure, rising geriatric population and higher incidence of diseases all over the world. High degree of innovation in the areas of medical treatment and post surgical services to patients and high growth in the medical business market are also the factors that fuel the global hospital beds market. The demand for hospital beds is also determined by the advanced features of the hospital beds. The rising popularity of automated beds in the households and clinical markets is also quite noteworthy. 

A major cause of concern in the global hospital beds market is the pricing of beds. The pricing of the hospital beds gets influenced by the economies of scale policy being adopted by the new market entrants. 

The main restraint in the global hospital beds market is the high cost of hospital beds which brings down the affordability in low income countries. 

Emerging Regional Players in the Global Hospital Beds Market

Geographically, the largest market for hospital beds is North America which is then followed by Asia and Europe. Rising hospitalization cases and better healthcare infrastructure are the primary driving factors in the global hospital beds market. The largest markets for the same are in Japan and China in the region of the Asia Pacific because of greater investments in the sector of healthcare and also due to the proliferation of greater number of hospitals. 

Prominent players in the global hospital beds market are these days concentrating more on the developing economies because of low production costs of hospital beds in these regions. The key players in the global hospital beds market are Hard Manufacturing Co., Inc., Hill Rom, Inc., Stryker Corporation, GF Health Products, Inc., Invacare Corporation, BaKare Beds Ltd., ArjoHuntleigh and Gendron, Inc.