German medical technology held back by government budgeting:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Germany's BVMed industry association last week aired its views on healthcare budget-setting and increasing pressure on prices for medical technical aids at the Frankfurt stock exchange. A restrictive healthcare budget has held back sales growth within the medtech industry (excluding large-scale capital equipment and dentistry) to euro20bn ($26.4bn), up by 3-4% against worldwide average growth of 6%, association head Joachim Schmitt said while profiling the industry during a special MedTech-Day at the exchange. Medtech is a dynamic industry, with over half its sales being made from products less than three years old, but the new DRGs hospital reimbursement system is threatening to put the brakes on innovation.