Question

what are the main players of the medical services industry?

what has the economic cycle for the medical services industry been like ?

Answer 1

The main players of the Medical services industry are:

1. Providers: Entities that provide medical services to the patients, charge fees in return, and buy products from vendors Example: Hospitals, labs etc

2. Patients: individuals who receive medical treatment from the providers.

3. Payers: Insurance agencies, Government and other entities which pay the providers for the medical services.

4. Vendors: Those entities who sell medical equipments, products, services and solutions to the providers to aid them in medical treatments.

The interaction between these main components helps shape the medical services/ healthcare industry.

The economic cycle for the Medical Services Industry in the US:

From the business point of view (from supply side), there are two industry groups- 1) healthcare service providers, vendors who manufacture medical equipments and offer other products and services ; 2) companies primarily involved in the research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.

As per a research report published by Fidelity, the business cycle for any industry has four phases that reflect fluctuations in the economy and a particualar phase always impacts an industry. As per Fidelity's analysis of historical trends, the US healthcare sector is performing moderately well.

As per Deloitte Insights report, the global healthcare spending is expected to increase by a CAGR of 5% in 2019-23 and hence there is supposed to be a plethora of opportunities for the sector in the coming years. The main drivers for growth include rising influence of chronic diseases, aging population, technological advancements, high labor costs etc.