U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2033

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Size and Growth 

The U.S. acute hospital care market size was USD 1.19 trillion in 2023, calculated at USD 1.27 trillion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 2.29 trillion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2024 to 2033. The rising investment in healthcare infrastructure by the government is driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market.

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Key Takeaways

• By medical condition, the emergency care segment dominated the U.S. acute hospital care market in 2023.
• By facility type, the general acute facilities segment held the largest share of the market in 2023.
• By service, the ICU segment dominated the market in 2023.

Market Overview

Acute hospital care is responsible for giving the treatment for immediate and short-term treatment for any type of critical disease, injury, or illness. The acute care hospitals are used to improve the health of the patients. Acute hospital care includes emergency care, urgent care, trauma care, rehabilitative care centers, pediatric and neonatal care units, acute care surgery stations, and psychiatric acute care centers. The increasing prevalence of chronic illness in the population of the United States and the rising number of accidents in the country are driving the demand for emergency healthcare facilities or emergency rooms for treatment and diagnostics. Thus, all these factors are driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market.

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Growth Factors

• The rising aging population around the world and the growing chronic diseases in the population are driving the demand for the well-equipped healthcare infrastructure that drives the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market. 
• The rising prevalence of chronic diseases in the geriatric population results in a higher demand for surgical procedures, medical services, medication management, diagnostics tests, and critical care services that drive the demand for acute hospital care. 
• The increasing cases of diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and others are highly contributing to the expansion of the U.S. acute hospital care market. 
• The rising prevalence of chronic illness in the United States due to the higher geriatric population and the rise in the healthcare infrastructure is boosting the growth of the market. 
• The changing lifestyle and rising consumption of alcohol and smoking in the younger population are driving the cases of severe illness in the population, which drives the demand for acute hospital care and is driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market. 
• The rising investment in the healthcare infrastructure by the public and private investors for the development of healthcare facilities is driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market.

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Scope

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Dynamics

Driver

Rising demand for emergency care units

Acute hospital care services include intensive care, emergency services, surgical services, specialized care units, and diagnostics services. It provides a standardized work environment and a process for admission and discharge. Thus, all these factors are driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market.

Acute hospital care includes services like appropriate and on-time treatment, assessment, and diagnosis that minimize the time to stay in the hospital. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases and accidental cases like road accidents, burn cases, and others drives the demand for emergency care units for timely treatment. It enhances the management process, such as patient bed management and smoother patient flow. It also helps decrease the overflow of patients in the emergency department and avoids unnecessary admissions.

Restraint

Unawareness and affordability issues

The unawareness about acute hospital care in underserved populations, including rural communities, ethnic and racial minorities, and lower-income populations, is restraining the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market. 

Opportunity

Technological advancements

The rising advancement in technology in the medical industry, the rising investment in the development of healthcare facilities, and technological adoption in the healthcare industry are further driving the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market. The advancements in medical diagnostics tools, devices, surgical procedures, minimally invasive procedures, robotic surgery, personalized therapies, precision medicine, and treatment modalities are driving the growth opportunity for the market.

Additionally, with the rising awareness about the healthcare campaign for addressing population health management, healthcare facilities are collaborating with community partners to manage the preventive care program that helps in improving health outcomes and lower overall expenditure on healthcare and reducing healthcare disparities that, further contributing to the growth of the U.S. acute hospital care market.

Medical Condition Insights

The emergency care segment dominated the U.S. acute hospital care in 2023. The rising accidental cases, heart stroke, depression, dementia, and other age-related issues in the geriatric population are driving the demand for emergency care units. Emergency care units provide medication for patients with life-threatening medical conditions.

The demand for emergency care hospitals in the United States is driven by the increasing geriatric population and the prevalence of communicable diseases. Life-threatening conditions such as stroke, heart attack, severe bleeding, difficulty in breathing, poisoning, acute abdominal pain, severe allergic reactions, broken bones, and lacerations are further contributing to the demand for emergency care services in the U.S. acute hospital care market.

Facility Type Insights

The general acute facilities segment held the largest share of the U.S. acute hospital care market in 2023. General acute care involves the short-term treatment of conditions like illness, injuries, emergency needs, and recovery after surgery requirements. Acute care hospitals are responsible for urgent healthcare support for any type of eventuality, including widespread illness, natural disasters, epidemics, and accidents. It actively helps in saving lives and prevents disabilities in patients.

There are several types of general acute care, including emergency care, urgent care, trauma and acute surgery, pre-hospital care, short-term stabilization, and critical intensive care. It is also considered secondary health care, and it is more advanced than primary care because it involves urgent care specialists, healthcare workers, trauma specialists, and other healthcare providers.

Services Insights

The ICU segment dominated the U.S. acute hospital care market in 2023. The increasing demand for intensive, round-the-clock monitoring of patients is driving the demand for the ICU segment. ICU units are well-equipped with life-saving medical equipment, surgical processes, and well-trained professionals. 

The ICU segments provide the benefits of shorter ICU stay, reduced mortality rates, shorter duration of mechanical ventilation, decreased incidence of renal failure, reduced arrhythmias and hypotensive episodes, increased cases of central venous and pulmonary artery catheterizations, less consultation required, and reduced number of arterial blood-gas analyses.

Recent Developments

• In May 2024, the American Council of Graduate Medical Education attributed Oroville Hospital as a teaching institution. The hospital introduced its first psychiatric residency program. 
• In May 2024, WellSky, a leading health and community care technology organization, announced the launch of Ava, powered by WellSky TeamEngage, a revolutionary solution for home-based care with the vision of increasing employee reliability, retention, and recruitment through gamification. 
• In May 2024, Zipline announced the Platform 2 (P2) services and their integration into Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Jacksonville, Rochester, and Florida, Minnesota. Mayo Clinics will use Ziplines’s zero-emission drones for rapid medicine delivery at the patient’s home. 
• In May 2024, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) collaborated with the Florida Aquarium to launch the first phase of a revolutionary program that provides pediatric patients with a virtual tour of aquariums from their hospital beds using customized-built robots. 
• In May 2024, MatrixCare, a leading technology player in the post-acute, Health Gorilla, a leading national player in the only dual-designated Qualified Health Information Organization (QHIO) and Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN), collaborated to offer MatrixCare efficient exchange, access, and integrated comprehensive clinical data into the HER (Electronic Health Record) platform. 

U.S. Acute Hospital Care Market Companies 

• TH Medical (Tenet Healthcare Corporation)
• Universal Health Services Inc.
• Community Health Systems, Inc.
• Ascension
• Lifepoint Health, Inc.
• Ardent Health Services
• Emerus Hospital Partners, LLC
• Stanford Health Care, Inc.
• NYU Langone Hospitals
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Segments Covered in the Report

By Medical Condition

• Emergency Care
• Short-term Stabilization
• Trauma Care
• Acute Care Surgery
• Others

By Facility Type

• General Acute Care Hospitals
• Psychiatric Hospitals
• Specialized Hospitals
• Rehabilitation Hospitals
• Long-term Acute Care (LTAC)

By Service

• Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Coronary Care Unit (CCU)
• Others