Dive Brief:

• Most U.S. hospital executives expect low- to mid-single-digit increases in procedure volumes this year, according to a survey conducted by BTIG analysts.
• The forecast, which reflects the resolution of staff shortages at most surveyed sites and a small overall rise in capital equipment budgets, could benefit Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Stryker, the analysts wrote Wednesday in a note to investors.
• Robotic surgery jumped up the list of spending priorities, climbing from sixth to third place year over year. The change is a “good sign” for Intuitive Surgical, the analysts said, although the forecast of a continued slump in bariatric procedures has negative implications for the company.

Dive Insight:

BTIG analysts surveyed 40 hospital executives from 20 states to understand their spending priorities for 2024 and 2025. Last year, the analysts found widespread staff shortages, with three-quarters of respondents saying the situation was affecting procedure volumes. Recently, analysts and medtech companies have reported that, while staffing remains an issue, the situation has stabilized.

The survey corroborates those reports. This year, one-third of hospital executives said procedure volumes are still affected by staffing shortages. The easing of shortages at many hospitals is supporting increases in procedure volumes.

Almost half of respondents expect procedure volumes to rise by 5% to 6% this year. Nine people forecasted a 1% to 2% uptick, and eight people expected an increase of 7% or more.

General and elective surgeries, and orthopedic procedures were named by almost half of respondents as high-growth areas. At the other end of the spectrum, only a few executives named bariatric, neurology and vascular procedures as high-growth areas.

Intuitive, which sells surgical robots used in bariatric procedures, has reported a slowdown in the performance of weight-loss surgeries since GLP-1 medicines came to market. BTIG’s survey found bariatric procedures are one of the areas where relatively few hospitals are operating at full capacity and where little growth is expected this year.

The answers about hospital spending contain better news for Intuitive. Robotic surgery was third on the list of spending priorities this year, behind facilities/construction and surgical equipment, and experienced the biggest year-over-year increase of any category. The change comes as Intuitive prepares to launch its next-generation surgical robot.

BTIG analysts listed Intuitive among the companies that could benefit from the trends detected in the survey. The analysts named Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Stryker, GE Healthcare, Accuray and Siemens Healthineers as other companies that may benefit.