According to Transparency Market Research, improving the distribution network in emerging economies remains an important strategy for medical equipment rental market players to pursue, as the healthcare sector in many emerging economies is dominated by small-scale hospitals that can’t afford to purchase advanced medical equipment.

The prime driver for the global medical equipment rental market is the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular, orthopedic and lifestyle diseases requiring long-term management. Several countries in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific and Latin America exhibit high prevalence of such diseases. The developing healthcare sector in these regions is a crucial target for medical equipment rental companies, since the increasing purchasing power of consumers in emerging regions is leading to a steady increase in the healthcare expenditure.

The lack of large-scale development in the medical sector in emerging economies also means that many hospitals are faced with the pressure of reducing expenditures. Renting instead of purchasing medical equipment provides a feasible solution.

The global medical equipment rental market is held back by the prevalence of a varied cost structure across the world. Regulations regarding medical equipment rentals may vary to a considerable degree in different regions, which can cause legal complications at the time of the transaction. This has also led to a lack of awareness about medical equipment rental services, leading to many small-scale hospitals paying more than necessary to obtain rented medical equipment. Global coordination between healthcare agencies and proactive measures from global healthcare bodies will be key in ameliorating the effect of this restraint on the market.

Durable medical equipment is the most popular device type in the medical equipment rental market, with the segment’s revenue expected to reach $16.9 billion by the end of 2016. Other key device types in the medical equipment rental market are surgical equipment, home care equipment, storage and transport equipment, and electronic/digital equipment.

By end use, the medical equipment rental market is segmented into institutional/hospital-based medical equipment rental and personal medical equipment rental. Of these two, the institutional medical equipment rental segment’s revenue is expected to reach $23.6 billion by the end of 2016, with the segment expected to dominate demand for medical equipment rental in the coming years.

Due to the easy availability of advanced medical equipment and the relatively lower costs of the same in comparison to emerging regions, North America and Europe are set to remain the leading contributors in the global medical equipment rental market in the coming years. However, the Asia Pacific market is likely to exhibit a higher CAGR in the 2014 to 2020 forecast period than either of North America and Europe, which is expected to be an influential aspect of the medical equipment rental market’s growth.

The global medical equipment rental market is likely to reach a revenue of $38.9 billion by the end of 2016 and further rise to $49.1 billion by 2020.