Navigating the Surge: How the DME Industry Addresses Rising Hospital Occupancy Rates

Published in Member Communities on February 28, 2025

By Tyler Coulander, Market Strategy Manager, VGM & Associates

A new research study from the University of California, Los Angeles, shows hospital occupancy constraints are projected to increase at an alarming rate within the next decade.

Key Shifts in Hospital Occupancy Rates

The takeaways from this study include:

Prior to the pandemic, data shows the average hospital occupancy in the United States to be 64%.
The new post-pandemic average occupancy has reached 75%. This is an alarming increase that articulates just how much pressure hospitals are facing across the country.
There are several factors that have led to this trend, including a sicker aging population and a decline in staffed beds.

The reason hospital occupancy being as high as 75% is concerning is due to healthcare workforce shortages, but also other factors like seasonal fluctuations and unexpected surges of illness. Hospitals need to feel comfortable having additional capacity to take on these unpredictable influxes in demand. Occupancy rates have also continued to increase due to hospitals and health systems that have closed or gone bankrupt.

Assuming hospitalization rates and staffed bed supply continue at the rates they are today, adult hospital bed occupancy could be as high as 85% in 2032, the UCLA study reports. There are several significant issues that can arise as hospital occupancy rates increase. This can lead to longer wait times, reduced quality of care, and increased mortality rates.

The Role of DME in Relieving Hospital Occupancy

The DME industry can help play a crucial role in addressing the hospital occupancy problem in the United States. By providing essential medical equipment like hospital beds or oxygen concentrators, patients can be safely discharged in a timely manner from hospitals. This reduces the length of stay and allows hospitals to increase turnover time, freeing up beds for new patients that could be boarding in the emergency department or at other facilities.

There are other ways our industry can tackle the hospital occupancy problem, such as supporting chronic disease management. Home medical equipment plays a role in reducing the need for hospital admissions by allowing patients to manage their health better at home. Preventing complications through other technology-driven solutions, like patient monitoring and wearable technology, can help track patients’ health status in real time.

Our industry has a great opportunity to tackle this challenging dynamic that hospitals are facing related to occupancy constraints. By embracing this challenge, the DME industry can play a pivotal role in improving patient outcomes and satisfaction by enabling care in the home.