US roadshow set to boost local HIM sector

The Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (HIMOAP) is participating in a roadshow in the United States to promote the Philippines’ strong healthcare information management (HIM) and business process management (BPM) capabilities as well as generate business opportunities for local companies.

The trade and investment mission, called “HIM-BPM USA Roadshow,” will kick off on October 21 and cover key business states of New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Joining HIMOAP are representatives from the Department of Science and Technology’s Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO), Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI), and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).

The roadshow will culminate with the participation of the Philippine delegation in the 85th American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia on October 28-30. AHIMA hosts the annual HIM conference in the US, gathering over 4,000 healthcare professionals to tackle the state of the global healthcare industry.

“This industry initiative supports our main objective for the Philippine HIM sector, which is to be the preferred destination of choice for HIM services. We are highly optimistic that this roadshow will boost confidence in the Philippine HIM sector and create more opportunities for us to thrive on,” said Dr. Josefina Lauchangco, HIMOAP president.

Opportunities in the US HIM landscape

Research firm MarketsandMarkets reported the global healthcare BPM market has a compound annual growth rate of 21.4 percent. By 2016, the healthcare outsourcing sector is expected to be a US$330 billion-industry.

The largest HIM outsourcing demand comes from the US, where almost 75 percent of healthcare companies outsource their requirements.

Furthermore, the US healthcare BPM market is in an upswing with a range of technological innovations, regulatory changes such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and HIM reforms, among which is the shift in the medical coding system from International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 to ICD-10 in 2014.

The conversion to ICD-10 enabled healthcare provider outsourcing to achieve the highest growth rate of 31.9 percent from 2011 to 2016, according to MarketsandMarkets. HIM services include medical billing, medical coding, medical transcription, and finance and accounts. HIM companies in the Philippines offer these services.

In 2012, the Philippine HIM industry earned US$460 million. It posted the second biggest growth in revenue with a growth rate of 66 percent, as well as the largest increase in employment in the IT-BPM industry. By 2016, the industry is projected to earn US$1 billion.

Prior to the roadshow, HIMOAP, DOST-ICTO and BOI have been establishing a strong foothold in the US market through successive trade and investment missions, high-level business meetings, and strategic linkages and partnerships with relevant US organizations such as AHIMA, American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Also among HIMOAP’s initiatives to propel the Philippines in the global HIM market is the 4th Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Services Congress (HIMOSC), taking place on November 12, 2013 at the InterContinental Hotel Makati.

With the theme “Intensity 10: Propelling Healthcare Information Management to Exponential Growth,” the event will stimulate the local healthcare outsourcing sector with discussions on the most relevant issues, challenges and strategies towards advancement.

To register for the HIMOSC, visit the website.