04 April 2016 - The Philippines, through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), joined the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition held at the Sands Expo Convention Center on February 26 to March 04 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Considered as one of the biggest health information management conferences worldwide, this year’s HIMMS had more than 1,200 exhibitors and more than 42,000 attendees from around the world. It featured exceptional education, world-class speakers, health IT-products and powerful networking opportunities.

The Health Information Management (HIM) sector is one of the leading industries that greatly contribute to the government’s initiatives of providing employment opportunities to thousands of local nurses and to the growing business process management (BPM) sector in the country. In 2014, the sector had 86,000 full-time employees (FTEs) and by 2016, the number of FTEs is expected to reach 135,000. The country’s first participation to the roadshow aims to increase its promotional efforts in the HIM and BPM sectors.

The Philippine delegation was led by the DTI Industry Promotion Group (IPG) Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado with 15 other government representatives and major business process outsourcing (BPO) companies including Pointwest Technologies, SPi Global, Globe Telecom and Megaworld Corporation.

The US healthcare BPM market is expected to grow in the coming years due to the recently adopted measures of the US government to curtail the constantly increasing healthcare costs.  According to Markets and Markets, a notable research and consulting firm, “the healthcare industry makes up for 17.7% of the US GDP, approaching US$3 trillion in annual spend and is projected to grow to US$ 4.8 trillion by 2020, thereby increasing the outsourcing opportunity.”

Almost 75% of the US healthcare companies outsource their requirements to Asian countries. The Philippines, as one of the leading countries in the BPM industry, aims to further strengthen its presence abroad and exploit the growing demand by attracting future investors and companies to invest in the Philippines.

DTI’s Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Los Angeles (PTIC-LA), in partnership with the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP), organized the first participation of the Philippines at the HIMSS where a pavilion exhibited local HIM/BPM companies’ competencies.

 A business forum on the HIM Sector in the Philippines was also conducted at the event with Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles giving the Opening remarks and Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado providing an overview of the economic development in the country. 

The Philippine delegation to the 2016 HIMSS conference expects increased investments in the HIM-BPM sector as many US companies showed interest during the roadshow. END