Sleep growth to slow down, according to survey

BOSTON - HME providers expect their sleep volume growth to increase over the next 12 months, but at a slower rate than previously reported, according to Needham's “HME Sleep and Oxygen Survey” for the fourth quarter of 2017. Providers expect their sleep volume growth to increase 3% in the next 12 months, according to the latest survey, compared to 5.1%, according to a prior survey. Providers also reported that flow generator prices declined 3% in the last 12 months, compared to 1.8% in a prior survey, and mask prices declined 3% vs. 3.1%. Other findings from the survey, which was completed by 75 providers: Providers report only 3% of their patients purchased travel CPAP devices in the last 12 months; they expect 5% of patients to make purchases in the next 12 months; they expect portable oxygen concentrators to increase from 15.7% to 20.4% of the market over the next 12 months, with Applied Home Healthcare's OxyGo and OxyGo Fit as the high-rated models; and they report 3.9% of their POCs have connectivity and remote monitoring features, a number they expect to increase to 7.1% in the next 12 months.