Market trends that ultrasound professionals cannot afford to miss

On the afternoon of October 13th, the "2019 Medical Ultrasound Market Data Inventory" seminar, jointly hosted by "Medical Procurement and Bidding" and "Medical Device Home," was successfully held in Beijing.

 

 

 

Seminar Venue

 

The conference was chaired by Shi Yun, founder of "Medical Device Home," with Luo Shitong, CEO of Eibai Zhihui Data Consulting Co., Ltd., sharing specific data on the ultrasound market. Participants, including market and marketing executives from various medical ultrasound manufacturers and securities representatives, gathered to discussNew Trends in the Ultrasound Market in 1H 2019This topic, raising questions, exchanging experiences, and sparking ideas.

 

 

 

Shi Yun, Founder of "Medical Device Home"

 

 

 

Luo Shitong, CEO of Eibai Zhihui Data Consulting Co., Ltd.

 

Issues Addressed in This Seminar——

What is the overview of the national medical market?

What are the policy benefits in the ultrasound market?

What new trends will emerge in the ultrasound market?

Eibai Zhihui CEO Luo Shitong provided a detailed interpretation and sharing on these three aspects.

Specific content is as follows:

 

Statistics show that in 2018, the capacity of China's color ultrasound market was approximately 15 billion yuan, with approximately 150,000-160,000 units in use, and approximately 20,000-30,000 units replaced annually. The overall industry growth rate is approximately 15%.

 

Among China's national medical and health institutions, primary-level medical institutions account for the largest number.

 

According to the "National Plan for Medical and Health Services System (2015-2020)", China's medical and health service system includesHospitals, primary-level medical and health institutionsandSpecialized public health institutionsthree categories.

 

As of June this year, according to data from the National Health Commission, among more than 1 million medical and health institutions nationwide (1,005,086),Primary-level medical and health institutionsaccount for 950,967, representing the largest proportion,reaching 94.6%while hospitals and specialized public health institutions account for 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively. General Manager Luo Shitong stated that among primary-level medical and health institutions, there are 35,021 Community Health Service Centers (Stations) and 36,275 township hospitals. With the increasing portability, miniaturization, and ease of operation of ultrasound equipment,If the market of over 800,000 village clinics and medical offices could be activated and opened, it would represent a huge market for the ultrasound industry.

 

Regional distribution shows an imbalance in the development of medical institutions.

 

General Manager Luo Shitong introduced that according to data research, Sichuan, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Shandong, and Hebei are the provinces with the highest number of medical institutions nationwide, each exceeding 50,000. Sichuan has reached over 80,000. However, western regions such as Ningxia, Tibet, and Qinghai lag behind, with only a few thousand.

 

This shows thatthe level of medical services is closely related to the level of regional economic development.In the first, second, and third-tier markets of the medical industry,the distribution of medical institutions is relatively unbalanced, basically corresponding to the population.。

 

The greatest imbalance lies in the actual frequency of services, with a significant gap between the number of diagnoses and treatments and the scale of institutional development.

 

Based on a statistical survey of the average number of diagnoses and treatments per institution, primary-level medical institutions account for 95% of the total number of medical and health institutions nationwide, but the number of visits to primary-level medical institutions only accounts for 54% of the total nationwide visits. Hospitals, accounting for only about 3% of the total number of medical and health institutions nationwide, receive over 40% of patients nationwide. The phenomenon of patients flocking to large hospitals remains severe. In this regard, Luo Shitong shared his views:Primary-level medical institutions have such a large number of institutions, but they haven't fully played their role.This is also why the government has been promoting tiered medical care and emphasizing the primary level in recent years – to improve the capacity and service level of primary-level institutions. I believe that when primary-level institutions truly fulfill their role, it will greatly benefit both patients and hospitals.

 

The above imbalances have brought a significant period of opportunities to the entire medical market, including the ultrasound market.

 

The greatest source of opportunities in the ultrasound market is at the primary level.

 

 

General Manager Luo Shitong mentioned at the meeting that since 2016, various provinces have successively introduced policies to strengthen primary-level construction, and the national government has also successively issued relevant standards and regulations in the past and this year. In recent years,the primary level, especially the market represented by township hospitals, is the largest market for opportunities in the ultrasound industry.Therefore, currently,opportunities in the ultrasound market mainly come from three aspects: primary-level institutions, the construction of five major medical centers, and the capacity improvement of 1,000 county-level hospitals supported by government funding.The greatest source is the primary level, including township hospitals and community hospitals.

 

Procurement demand in the ultrasound market is steadily increasing, while the overall growth rate is declining.

 

 

 

According to the data shared by Luo Shitong at the seminar, in recent years,the market capacity of the entire ultrasound industry has increased, and demand is also growing, but the average growth rate is showing a downward trend.This is mainlyquantitativelyinfluenced bythe primary level.。

 

 

 

From relevant policies and the above data charts, it can be seen that in terms of year-on-year growth rate of procurement by major medical institutions, only primary-level medical institutions have shown significant growth. Looking at the ultrasound procurement situation of primary-level medical institutions over the years, the procurement quantity has decreased year by year, and the proportion of centralized government procurement to independent procurement by medical institutions is also declining.

 

Ultrasound Market Dynamic Forecast:

 

Centralized procurement still has a certain market capacity and space in Northwest China.

 

From 2017 to the present, the total number of ultrasound units centrally procured by primary medical institutions nationwide is 7849, mostly concentrated in the southwest region, such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Henan, Guangxi, etc. The entire centralized procurement project, especially provincial-level procurement in Guizhou, Yunnan, and Hunan, is concentrated in the southwest and central regions. In contrast, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and the North China region coexist with two procurement methods, with centralized procurement accounting for only a part. In this regard, Luo Shit ao mentioned,Future centralized procurement projects may appear more in the northwest region (data shows that only Shanxi has not yet officially started), and in some provinces where it is ongoing, while the southwest region is basically complete.

 

In 2019, entering the second half of the market dividend period, the characteristics are: reduced procurement by township hospitals and increased procurement by community hospitals.

 

By tracking the policies of various places, Luo Shit ao pointed out the relevant trends in the ultrasound market,The ultrasound market dividend for primary medical care has passed its halfway point, and the second half began in 2019.In terms of the types of Community medical institutions,Procurement by township hospitals has decreased, while procurement by community hospitals has increased.。

 

In terms of type, based on the two high transaction volume points of 1 million and 2 million, ultrasound diagnostic instruments (desktop type) are divided into three levels: low-end, mid-range, and high-end.

 

 

 

In 2017, the demand for the low-end ultrasound market was relatively large. In 2018 and the first half of 2019, the market share of the three levels was relatively stable.In fact, the low, mid, and high-end markets are all competing for the growth and expansion of the ultrasound market, hoping to get a share of the pie. This is not only in the primary level but also in city and county hospitals, where there will be a certain increase. With the growth and expansion of the entire ultrasound market, more and more Brands are joining.

 

Imported Brands gradually sink to the low-end market, and market share increases.

 

Brands are divided into domestic and imported. Specifically, in the low-end ultrasound market, the relative proportion of imported Brands increased from 7.5% to 24.9% from 2017 to the first half of 2019, while domestic Brands decreased from 92.5% to 75.1%. This also shows that imported Brands have adopted certain strategies to cope with the primary market.

 

Among many Brands, from the perspective of the low-end market, Mindray has always been in a leading position in market share. Luo Shit ao lamented,The number of centralized procurements may have a great impact on market share.Mindray, as a representative of domestic Brands, has always ranked first, followed by two other domestic Brands, Kaili and Shantou Ultrasound. A large part of the increase in the market share of imported Brands in the low-end market comes from GE and Philips.

 

The mid-range market is still dominated by imported Brands, with significant growth in domestic Brands.

 

 

From 2017 to the first half of 2019, imported Brands decreased slightly from 77.35% to 70.83%.The domestic ratio increased by nearly 7%, and the competitiveness of domestic Brands led by Mindray in the mid-range market has also gradually begun to grow.However, in general,In the mid-range ultrasound market, imported Brands still dominate, with GE being the most stable.

 

The road to "import substitution" in the high-end market is long and arduous.

 

In the high-end ultrasound market, in the first half of 2019, imported Brands accounted for nearly 92%.GE's leading position is almost unshakeable. From 2017 to the first half of 2019, its high-end market share has remained above 30%, followed by Philips. The only domestic Brand that can enter the top ranks of the high-end market is Mindray. Luo Shit ao said in this regard,Import substitution is a long and arduous task.As competition in the ultrasound field for community hospitals enters the mid-range market, whether domestic Brands can still maintain their share has also become a question that needs to be considered.It is expected that by 2020, China's ultrasound market will enter a period of decisive battle for import substitution.

 

The entire process of domestic import substitution has also accompanied the rapid development of China's medical device market. Domestic Brands have gone from followers to challengers to leaders. The smooth development of this trend requires continuous efforts from ultrasound professionals.

 

Subsequently, in response to the market data and analysis shared by General Manager Luo Shit ao, the guests present expressed their views and raised relevant questions, engaging in an in-depth discussion. The Mindray medical manufacturer representative expressed strong agreement with the content shared by Luo Shit ao, believing that the data's conformity and accuracy were very high in this seminar and raised the issue that "non-public" is a large and difficult issue that urgently needs to be addressed.

 

 

 

Statement by Mindray medical manufacturer representative

 

The Feinuo manufacturer representative expressed the hope of seeing the relevant data of hospitals in the first half of 2019 and also expressed their views on the importance of data in the non-public market.

 

 

 

Statement by Feinuo manufacturer representative

 

The Siemens medical representative proposedA suggestion that the next meeting should further subdivide the data of the entire ultrasound market in different directions.Subdivision at different levels withMore detailed introductions.

 

 

 

Statement by Siemens medical representative

 

All participants actively spoke, exchanging and discussing issues related to the ultrasound market. General Manager Luo Shit ao answered all the questions raised by the representatives of various manufacturers and securities firms, and all the guests present said that they benefited greatly from attending this meeting.

 

This meeting, through the inventory and sharing of relevant data on the medical ultrasound market, made relevant predictions about the future development trends of the ultrasound industry. It also provided a platform for market and marketing managers of various medical ultrasound manufacturers and securities representatives to exchange experiences and discuss together. This allows for the timely reflection of the current ultrasound market situation, provides guidance for future market research, and has important significance for medical practitioners in the ultrasound industry.