The pandemic has dramatically increased demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves. For most suppliers of PPE and other durable medical equipment (DME), this increased demand resulted in an increase in sales volume for certain products. However, the cost to manufacture and source these products also increased to an extent that mitigated the profitability of the volume increases. Looking at the near-term, it is likely that this situation will continue, resulting in the list prices for many DME products increasing to preserve margins. Further, the cancellation or deferral of many elective medical procedures has significantly reduced demand for non-PPE DME, a situation which may persist well into the current year. This report covers a global DME market and includes details on specific equipment sales, it also features regional analysis as well as country-level analysis for key markets.

Durable medical equipment is a broad term used to cover many types of medical equipment used to aid in a better quality of living, and is a benefit included by most insurance plans. In the US, the CMS includes equipment such as CPAP, nebulizers, catheters, and glucose meters as DME. However, Vamstar captures many of these equipment types in other reports. This report is focused primarily on DME that supports independent living.