Market Trends From NYTimes Hip Resurfacing Article
BY ARIELLA P. GOLOMB, MD, APRIL 17, 2007
Hailing hip replacement as one of the "great success stories of modern medicine," the New York Times published an article on Saturday emphasing the benefits of hip resurfacing as an interim step before traditional total hip replacement.
There are a few trends highlighted in this article that we wanted to point out:
1.) Continuum of Care
As we have previously noted, the orthopedic industry is becoming increasingly focused on treating patients earlier in the continuum of care with products that slow irreversible disease progression. The article points out that hip resurfacing conserves the patient's bone, and with it surgical options for the future.
2.) Informed Patients
The Times points out that patients are educating themselves on treatment options and seeking out hip resurfacing procedures. The two patients cited in the article learned about hip resurfacing from the internet rather than their physician.
As there are more options approved and available, expect to see more marketing spend on increasing the publics' awareness of hip resurfacing as a potential option.
(Smith & Newphew's Birmingham Hip is currently the only system on the market in the US, but it will soon be joined by Corin's Cormet resurfacing system. Cormet received an FDA panel's conditional support earlier this year and is awaiting final FDA approval. Cormet will be marketed by Stryker in the US once approved.)
3.) Medical Tourism
Hip resurfacing is a technically demanding procedure, and due to the currently limited numbers of doctors in the US, getting the procedure done by an experience physician (often at cheaper prices) outside of the US remains an option for many patients. Locales chosen include Belgium, Britain and India. One of the downsides of this option for patients is that these off shore choices are rarely covered by insurers.
