The global hospital beds market is poised to grow from $5.12 billion in 2016 to $6.54 billion in 2021, according to a new Technavio market report.

“Increased numbers of medical cases have led to an increase in the demand for patient services across the world, which is driving the growth of the global market for hospital beds,” Amber Chourasia, a lead analyst at Technavio, said in a statement.

The global prevalence of life-threatening diseases like stroke, heart attack, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and liver cirrhosis is at an all-time high. These diseases are largely caused by smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise and other unhealthy lifestyle habits.

This trend is resulting in higher admission rates at health care facilities. In order to meet this demand, manufacturers are introducing advanced products like automated beds, increasing their market penetration and entering emerging markets.

There’s also been a rise in medical emergencies due to outdoor accidents, industrial accidents, wars, fire breakouts and natural calamities. As a result, hospitals are upgrading their critical care, intensive care and surgical treatment services and purchasing medical supplies such as automated beds.

In 2016, the intensive care segment led the global hospital bed market with a 41.21 percent share. Despite the popularity of automated beds, manual beds accounted for the largest market share in 2016 with a 45.31 percent stake.

But that may change now that hospitals are more conscious of patient comfort. The demand for automated beds, such as hydraulic adjustable beds, AC-powered adjustable beds, and powered patient rotation beds is starting to increase compared to manual or semi-automated beds.

“These beds are especially useful for patients who have undergone multiple surgeries and need to be supported,” said Chourasia. “Thus, advances in technology have minimized human effort and increased the quality of patient care services.”

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