Elective procedure interest still topping pre-COVID levels, survey finds – MedTech Dive

Dive Brief:

Medtech companies have benefited from elevated procedure volumes in recent quarters as providers work through a backlog of cases left over from when hospitals postponed non-emergency care to keep beds open for COVID-19 patients.

But it is unclear how long the boost will last.

On Intuitive Surgicals third-quarter earnings call, executives said uncertainty about the duration of pent-up demand is factored into the companys procedure growth forecast range for 2023. The surgical robot makers U.S. procedure growth of 17% in the latest quarter reflected a smaller benefit from patient backlogs than in the first half of the year, the company said.

Heart valve specialist Edwards Lifesciencescontinues to work to get patients off the sidelinesfollowing the rockiness of the COVID period,Larry Wood, group president of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical structural heart, said on the companys third-quarter call.Edwards has posted three straight quarters of double-digit sales growth, Wood noted, after an analyst pointed out that TAVRprocedures were growing faster before the pandemic.

Needhams analysis shows Google searches for 20 U.S. elective procedures have been trending upward since the start of the pandemic, peaking this spring above 115% of pre-COVID levels. After a pullback in the third quarter, the figure climbed to 112% of pre-pandemic levels in the latest week.

Searches in the U.S. for orthopedic procedures in the week ended Oct. 28 were at 114% of pre-COVID levels, general surgery searches were at 103%, and cardiovascular procedure searches were at 107%, Needham found.

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Elective procedure interest still topping pre-COVID levels, survey finds - MedTech Dive