As companies ride the latest wave of COVID-19, SmartTRAK predicts the trends and technologies that will continue to advance the trauma industry in 2021 and 2022.

Trend #1: Procedures Return to Near-Normal Levels in 2021

After the first swell of COVID-19 this past March, elective surgeries took a major hit. As most procedures were postponed during this phase of the pandemic, the trauma segment was impacted to a lesser extent. In early 2020, trauma surgeons reported seeing definite decreases in volumes due to stay-at-home orders, with polytrauma being almost negligible in certain US cities. Geriatric fractures also decreased, but to a lesser extent according to the OTA COVID-19 Webinar discussion. Despite the decrease, surgeons treated the majority of trauma fracture fixation procedures and provided conservative treatment in only a small portion of patients who were in facilities or areas heavily impacted by COVID-19.

SmartTRAK reviews the impact and underlying reasons behind the high turnover rate among CEOs in the wound care market.

At the end of November 2020, Zlatko Rihter assumed his role as the new CEO for Mölnlycke*, which means that all top four Advanced Wound Care players now have CEOs with less than three years in office. As a matter of fact, seven or eight of the top 10 players have appointed new CEOs in the last three years, depending on how you count Acelity being acquired by 3M.

The average time in office for a CEO among the 2,500 largest public companies is around seven years. Most of the transitions are planned (70%), some are forced out (15%), and some are consequences of mergers (15%). In US hospitals, the turnover rate among CEOs is close to six years.

While the reason for replacing the CEO is sometimes not clear, in most cases it is. SmartTRAK reviews what is behind the transition in CEOs at the top wound care companies and what it means for the Advanced Wound Care market, which is estimated to be have generated $7.4B in the last 12 months according to SmartTRAK forecasts.

SmartTRAK reviews the 2020 Virtual EWMA meeting covering the impact of COVID-19, the growing use of digital tools and emerging technologies 

For the first time, the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) annual meeting, held November 18 – 19^th 2020, was an all-virtual event. As the premier wound care conference in Europe, EWMA 2020 showcased the latest news and trends in the market for European Advanced Wound Dressings, which is projected to reach $1.8B in 2020 according to SmartTRAK estimates. It turned into a truly global event thanks to the format that welcomed 9,758 registered participants from 113 countries from all over the world.