Market Overview

Disposable medical supplies are single-use devices used for drug infusion, transfusion, and surgical procedures in hospitals, clinics, and inspection centers, and for home care.
Based on sales from domestic manufacturers and distributors of imported products, the disposable medical supplies market (excluding adult diapers) was estimated at 255.6094 billion yen in FY2023, which was a 2.5% increase from the previous fiscal year. Supply shortages persisted for some products due to production and transportation delays, primarily affecting overseas products. However, the recovery in demand for various inspections following the pandemic crisis, as well as rising product prices due to soaring material and transportation costs, and a weaker yen, contributed to market expansion.

Noteworthy Topics

The Home-Use Market for Disposable Medical Supplies

As an exponential increase in the elderly population is expected in Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is reevaluating the terminal or end-of-life care. The MHLW is encouraging a shift from hospital care to home care to ensure long-term care provisions for the elderly.
Currently, home care patients who use disposable medical supplies primarily include those with “at-home self-injection guidance and management fees”, “home continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) guidance and management fees”, etc. being calculated. 
Of the overall disposable medical supplies market, the home-use segment grew by 0.7% year over year, reaching 26.1995 billion yen in FY2023. When this figure is added to the market size of adult diapers (part of incontinent products for the elderly), which is estimated at 202.7210 billion yen, the total market size is estimated to be 228.9208 billion yen, which is a 2.4% increase from the previous fiscal year.
Specifically, the home-use disposable medical supplies segment can expect stable growth from products such as self-urination catheters and other urology-related products, transfusion filters, breathing circuits, and home mechanical ventilation (HMV) products which include artificial noses. Additionally, the adult diaper market is growing robustly due to high usage rates among the elderly for urinary incontinence, which has the largest potential patient base.

Future Outlook

The following disposable medical supplies are highly likely to increase in deployment and usage: safety-mechanism equipped products (*1) to prevent infection, drainage treatment systems and suction devices, products and systems with further disposability potential, such as breathing circuits, anesthesia breathing systems or circuits, oxygen masks, and nasal cannulas, as well as those kits/sets (*2) that improve medical workers’ work efficiency.
In addition, as the government has promoted the Community-Based Integrated Care System, sufficient preparations are expected in the homecare system, the infrastructure to facilitate communication between medical institutions with households of elderly individuals in need of care, and the support systems to enhance subsidies beyond the medical fee system. Consequently, the market for home-use disposable medical supplies is projected to be on the rise.

*1) Products with a safety mechanism for infection prevention: Infection control products that prevent needlestick injury, blood scattering, misconnection (closed circuit), among other things.
*2) Kits/sets: Prepackaged, single-use kits containing all the necessary protective equipment and pharmaceuticals for general surgery, testing and treatment.

Research Outline