An aging population vulnerable to chronic disease and a push by hospitals and clinics to trim budgets will help drive the rental and leasing market for medical equipment over the next decade, according to a new report.

Already, more than one-third of medical equipment in the United States is leased, said analysts with research firm Global Industry Analysts Inc.

"Rental and leasing of medical equipment is an affordable and quick solution for hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, which are presently constrained by the availability of limited funds due to the recent global economic recession," the firm wrote in a report last week.
In the report, "Medical Equipment Rental and Leasing," the firm predicts global medical equipment leasing and rentals will reach $56 billion by 2017.

Around half a decade ago, U.S. equipment leasing grew rapidly from low levels, GIA said, with 35 to 40 percent of equipment in the country now being leased. X-ray, ultrasound, patient monitoring and laboratory equipment are among the most commonly leased products, GIA said.

However, the rest of world market is expected to see the fastest growth in medical equipment, with a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent from 2009-2017, GIA said.

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