The average price that healthcare facilities paid for electric beds was 45% higher in February compared with the same month last year. The increase was fueled by interest in beds designed for intensive-care units, according to the Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Technology Price Index.
The average price paid for electric beds was $15,627, according to the newest data in the Technology Price Index. The TPI provides monthly and annual data about pricing of 30 supply and capital items that hospitals and other provider organizations purchase, based on three-month rolling averages.
Higher-cost ICU beds accounted for 40% of all interest in electric beds among ECRI member organizations, up from 20% during the same time the year before.
ICU beds tend to cost between $25,000 and $30,000 each—significantly more than medical/surgical beds, which typically cost $5,000 to $10,000 a bed, said Kevin Lee, a pricing analyst with ECRI's SELECTplus procurement advisory service. Bariatric beds are more expensive, running about $35,000 to $40,000 each.
Three major players lead the electric bed market: Hill-Rom, Linet and Stryker, which this year acquired Canada-based CHG Hospital Beds.
Most of the bed purchases tracked by ECRI in February were replacement orders, meaning a hospital traded in an old bed for a new one, Lee said. A bed frame tends to last about 10 to 15 years, though specific components of the bed often need to be replaced during that time frame.
If most of a facility's beds are toward the end of their life cycle, new features may make now an opportune time for a facility to trade in, said Rushtin Chaklader, a project officer in Health Devices, ECRI's health technology evaluation and safety program. For example, some beds now offer frame-based lateral rotation, replacing the need for specialized mattresses or surfaces that hospitals otherwise have to buy for patients who need to be frequently rotated to avoid pressure ulcers.
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