The Philippine healthcare information management (HIM) services, one of the fastest growing sectors in the country’s IT-business process management industry, is projected to grow between 5 to 10 percent this year from its $3.1 billion revenues in 2020.
This was revealed by Vincent Remo, vice-president of the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP) during a virtual webinar on “Global Healthcare Information Management Services powered by PH : Resiliency amidst the pandemic” webinar.
Remo said the industry’s growth is fueled by the rising costs and margin pressures in developed countries and pushing them towards offshoring their operations. The massive COVID-19 vaccination rollouts will also encourage offshoring expansions.
In addition, the country’s telecommunications infrastructure are getting reliable and internet services becoming affordable. He also cited the flexible working models and the abundant supply of next generation talents, who are digitally skilled, will support growth.
Last year, the Philippine healthcare information management industry employed 147,000 fully time workers and generating $3.1 billion revenues.
This makes the country one of the biggest and fastest growing offshore location for healthcare payer outsourcing. Contributing to the large pool of talents is the medical professionals, including US-licensed nurses.
“The Philippines has the highest passing rate in the NCLEX RN for US licensure of up 44 percent,” he pointed out.
A 2018 data showed that there were more than 9,000 passers for the licensure examination for nurses in the Philippines.
In addition, there were more than 4,600 newly licensed pharmacists on that year. “Imagine those passers joining your workforce. Definitely, you will be able to offer high quality services, not to mention the possibility of conceptualizing new care delivery models with breed of talents,” said Remo.
The Philippines has also a growing capabilities in high-value services such as clinical research, analytics and life sciences.
Meanwhile, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said that the HIM is one of the fastest-growing sub-sectors achieving a double-digit growth despite the pandemic.
Some of the key American HIMS companies that have successfully established operations in the country include Legato Health Technologies, Alorica, IQVIA, Abbot Philippines, ADEC, AWS, STAYWELL, and TENET. He likewise cited local companies that have been supporting US clients in the healthcare industry, like the Visaya KPO, Pointwest, Collabera, and Access Healthcare.