The Healthcare Information Management sector, a key contributor to the growth of the information-technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, is seeking at least a 3-percent share in the global market, or a conservative revenue target of $5.9 billion by 2020.
The industry also presented an “aggressive” but equally achievable revenue target of $9.8 billion at the most, or 5 percent of the global market by the same year. This, the industry said, can be attained if the government and the industry can come up with a strategic push—in the form of a road map—to address major industry gaps.
According to the Healthcare Information and Management Association of the Philippines (Himap), this would mean a bigger contribution to the total IT-BPM industry’s revenues.
The Healthcare Information Management’s share to total IT-BPM revenue in 2014 was 7.2 percent, or $ 1.3 billion of the $ 18-billion haul of the entire IT-BPM industry last year.
Consultancy firm Tholons predicts the Philippine IT-BPM industry to be worth $48 billion by 2020, which means that the targeted $5.9-billion revenue of Himap by 2020 would translate to a 12-percent share.
Moreover, by 2020, Himap predicts its employment share to total IT-BPM work force to improve from 87,000 workers to at least 300,000.
The $5.9-billion revenue target is hinged on an assumed year-on-year growth rate of 25 percent from 2014 to 2020.
Himap leaders pointed out that the conservative $5.9-billion target relies on two significant factors: addressing the gap in talent and sustaining a “healthy business environment.”
“In talent development, we’re trying to identify the areas of focus in terms of the services we’re going to offer in the market. We’re trying to build the capability of Filipinos in the IT expertise,” said Judy Whisenhunt, industry treasurer, adding that the K to 12 Program of the Department of Education will play a role in this.
On maintaining a competitive business environment, the industry stressed the need to retain government incentives for the IT-BPM projects.
“The incentives that we have today, we just want them to remain. Shutting off these incentives would be disastrous for us,” said Jeff Williams, chairman of the Board of Himap.
Under the 2014-2016 Investment Priorities Plan, healthcare information management systems are eligible for fiscal perks.
Other drivers that will aid the sub-sector in reaching the revenue goal, Williams said, is diversifying the Philippine markets outside of the traditional ones such as the US. The neighboring Asean countries, he said, would be a good start.