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.