Med-tech makers have lost faith in the industry in the past two quarters, with confidence levels ranking lower now than they have since 2009.
Optimism was high through all of 2010 and outlooks remained positive through the first quarter of this year, but began sinking in the second quarter and hit a 2-year low of -10.6 in Q3.
The index, maintained by Millennium Research Group, calculates a level based on health care facilities’ levels of confidence in the national economy, the facility’s financial health and its procedure volume outlook.
Med-tech organizations ranked lower in all three areas for the third quarter of 2011, likely tied to fears of a second recession in the U.S. and the continuing debt crisis in the Europe in addition to the ongoing protests against bank bailouts, according to the research institute.
Confidence levels dropped for all three health areas – cardiovascular, orthopedics and facial aesthetics – which MRG uses as a bellwether for the overall industry.
The biggest slide came from the cardiovascular industry, where the score dropped from 1.5 to -16.1 since Q2, a result of the large number of studies claiming that many ICDs are implanted without proper evidence and U.S. Dept. of Justice probes into the issue, MRG noted.
The overall drop was most dramatic for the outlook for the U.S, but the European med-tech market lost confidence during the last two quarters as well.
The E.U. index hasn’t hit a positive note as long as MRG has calculated its figures.
The rest of the world, however, remains optimistic about the industry, with only a slight decline marked for the last two quarters.