Given the recent Covid-19 outbreak, the importance of infection surveillance services has increased significantly. While the primary task of infection preventionists (IPs) remains infection surveillance, it has transformed to assume a large scope and more responsibilities. Infection surveillance data is vital to measure success of infection prevention & control initiatives and find areas for improvement for the future.
Over the last few years, government and private funding have increased in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). The advent of novel technologies such as automation has boosted the efficiency of infection surveillance services.
According to Allied Market Research, the global infection surveillance services market is expected to reach $1.72 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.5% from 2021 to 2030. Rise in the prevalence of healthcare-associated infection, an initiative was taken by the government for prevention of healthcare-associated infection, and technological advancement in healthcare sector has boosted the growth of the market.
Technological advancements, surge in prevalence of health-associated infections, and supportive government initiatives drive the growth of the global infection surveillance services market. However, high cost of software associated with infection surveillance solutions hinders the market growth. On the other hand, untapped potential in emerging markets and developments in the healthcare industry present new opportunities in the coming years.
For years, manual infection detection was the only method available for infection surveillance. However, now the automated infection detection methods that use computer algorithms entered the market. The automated infection detection scans through electronic medical records of patients and improves the quality of data by completely eliminating human errors. However, this demands a higher level of information technology support, which is a challenge in developing countries.
Having said that, infection surveillance services perform the vital task of detecting outbreaks. Conventionally, infection prevention departments have laboratory culture reports to identify outbreaks of infectious diseases. However, over the years, technology has advanced and new methods, algorithms have been invented to promptly detect outbreaks and trends. While there is no standard method for the processes, multiple approaches are used for detecting outbreaks of infectious diseases.
HAI surveillance is the prime aim of infection prevention and control departments. However, errors in data collection, data security, human error, and incomplete information present challenges. Thus, infection surveillance services need to keep pace with new technologies to improve efficiency, eliminate errors, and enhance accuracy. In the short term, the developed and developing countries should focus on keeping electronic healthcare records accurate and leverage rapidly-evolving medical informatics and advanced software to prevent and control HAIs.
Alarming surge in prevalence of healthcare-associated infection across the globe, rise in adoption of infection surveillance software among healthcare workers, increase in government and private funds for prevention and control of healthcare-associated infection, and surge in number of surgeries are expected to notably contribute toward the growth of the global infection surveillance services market during the forecast period.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Infection Surveillance Services Market:
· The Covid-19 pandemic put a lot of stress upon the healthcare systems worldwide and raised the risk of health-associated infections among Covid-19 patients. According to the study published by Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control in 2021, nearly 59 patients were diagnosed with health-associated infections in a hospital and nearly 32 of them developed the infection due to Covid-19.
· The rapid transmission of Covid-19 led to rise in hospitalizations and long stays. This led to surge in demand for infection surveillance services, thereby, resulting in the market growth.
Alarming surge in prevalence of healthcare-associated infection across the globe, rise in adoption of infection surveillance software among healthcare workers, increase in government and private funds for prevention and control of healthcare-associated infection, and surge in number of surgeries are expected to notably contribute toward the growth of the global infection surveillance services market during the forecast period.
Onkar Sumant
Manager, Healthcare at Allied Market Research
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