Supplemental oxygen has been and remains an essential frontline therapy in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Here in the United States, much of the country is resuming life as usual with renewed vigor, thanks to wide access to vaccines and a naturally acquired immune response post-infection.
However, in other places—including, mostly recently, India—the need for therapeutic oxygen is continuing to outpace the available supply, putting pressure on the already stressed supply chain and allowing equipment manufacturers and suppliers no chance to take a breath and recover from the past year.
Because of this dynamic situation, oxygen equipment manufacturers are working to assist partners through the crisis in virus hot zones, while continuing to look to future innovations and portfolio expansion.
A new normal has emerged in this paradigm, with the same end goal for the industry—the expanded use of oxygen beyond inpatient acute care, a key component to high-quality patient-centered care after hospital discharge.
This expanded use of oxygen is one of the most important health care trends emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has put the spotlight on the importance of a reliable, efficient stationary oxygen concentrator (SOC) for at-home therapy and the expanding role of therapeutic, clinically advanced solutions including next-generation portable and transportable oxygen concentrators, especially those offering wireless connectivity to telehealth applications.
SOCs: Oxygen Therapy’s Unsung Hero
Stationary oxygen concentrators have maintained their traditional form since coming on the market in 1970s and have been largely treated as commodities—folded into purchases of other devices or equipment as just a necessary add-on in the not-so-recent past.
What has continued to evolve is the approach manufacturers are taking to creating devices that not only make sense from a cost perspective, but are also able to meet the provider’s needs for a proven technology that offers simple maintenance, long-lived internal components, low power draw and ease of use for the patient.
The demand for stationary oxygen concentrators continues to remain high as most providers try to stretch their fleets to the limits. Globally, higher flow models are the most sought after for use in treatment in the COVID-19 cycle, both at home and in health care facilities.
The use of supplemental oxygen is the subject of many studies related not only to the post-COVID-19 patient discharged from the hospital, but also for those individuals—described as long-haulers—who are still substantially affected by symptoms months and, in, many cases, more than a year after acute infection.
A recent study, “Mortality and Readmission Rates Among Patients With COVID-19 After Discharge From Acute Care Setting With Supplemental Oxygen,” published by JAMA Network, explored the use of home oxygen after hospital discharge for 621 individuals with COVID-19 pneumonia. Participants were deemed clinically stable and able to self manage their care.
The authors found that the treatment of patients with COVID-19 using home oxygen up to 3 liters per minute was associated with low mortality and low 30-day return admission rates. This program of sending patients home with oxygen when applicable could help free up hospital beds and establish emergency department programs that keep oxygen therapy devices and educational resources on hand to ensure patients get immediate access and don’t need to wait to resume care at home.
Another study exploring the use of oxygen therapy to improve mental and physical health for COVID-19 long-haulers is currently underway in the New York City area. Patients ages 18 to 55 who contracted COVID-19 from February through July of 2020 are part of the study led by Drs. Noah Greenspan, founder of the nonprofit Pulmonary Wellness Foundation in New York City, and Julie Walsh-Messinger, University of Dayton assistant professor of psychology.
Participants are taking part in treadmill exercises with oxygen therapy to study how it affects their overall health and track any reduction in their long-term symptoms, which can include headaches, fatigue, fever, shortness of breath and loss of smell. The study sprang out of Greenspan’s work at the COVID-19 Rehabilitation and Recovery Center at H&D Physical Therapy—the first private clinic of its kind in New York to help treat COVID-19 long-haulers—and his loyal following through the COVID Rehab & Recovery Series of virtual meetings that bring together clinicians and patients for weekly topics and discussions.
Studies around oxygen use will continue to pop up globally, with SOCs at center stage as they are put to work in the clinical environment. The ultimate outcome will influence the future of the 5-liter models able to work in a variety of environments from home to pulmonary rehab environments.
Demand for POCs Is Recovering
While demand for stationary oxygen equipment for at-home use and hospice and long-term care rehabilitation clinics has surged, demand for portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) waned while much of the country was shut down.
As a natural offshoot of the increased usage of oxygen at home and travel beginning to return, demand for portable devices is rising as many people are venturing out and want something beyond a backup cylinder. They want a POC with all the accessories designed to help them regain their quality of life and increase their activity levels.
This sentiment has expanded to include people who have adopted the new technology over the past year after being prescribed oxygen as a part of their post-COVID-19 recovery. Gen Xers affected by the virus are accustomed to finding the gadgets and devices to support their lifestyle—which makes the POC an attractive solution. That means consumer demand will only grow in the future.
In China, where a prescription for POCs is not required, they have seen new usage in high-altitude activities such as hiking and are considered very much an accessory for an active lifestyle.
With this increased demand will come advancements in and high expectations for POCs, including flow settings that can accommodate a variety of activity levels, a lightweight comfortable form, and accessories to extend time away from home and offer convenience.
Providers want to keep their customers happy and have a robust device that can handle the natural abuse that a POC experiences from general wear and tear. Add to this wireless connectivity around telehealth capabilities to help reduce the workload of teams that are already feeling stretched, and there is an opportunity to create a lot of value in investing in innovation into a premier wearable or transportable oxygen concentrator.
Bundling Down the Road Ahead
What the pandemic has taught everyone is that low-touch solutions that still offer the ability to provide excellence in customer care is the key. The next generation of telehealth solutions can help support this goal by allowing providers to remotely view device data—a true holistic approach at their fingertips to assist them in identifying those oxygen patients that require more touch points and support.
A portfolio including stationary and portable oxygen concentrators that meet these requirements find themselves naturally in the spotlight as the key products to play a large role in improving patient care. This will also solve the marketplace demands coming from the patient referrals and the savvy health care consumers looking to take charge of their care with oxygen therapy that fits their physical demands and lifestyle.
