Health care leads growth in BPO, says IT-BPAP official

Health care has emerged as a leading growth area in the business process outsourcing industry, specifically medical encoding, an official of the Information Technology-Business Process Association of the Philippines (IT-BPAP), told reporters in a briefing.

 

“The job pays well because it is highly specialized,” said Jose Mari Mercado, IT-BPAP president and CEO.

 

However, US companies locating here have a stringent hiring policy: the encoder must be a registered nurse in the US and must be accredited by a US organization.

 

The health care sector grew by 30 percent last year. It accounted for $3 billion or 15.87 percent of the $18.9 billion of revenues generated by BPO industry in 2015.

 

The industry is expected to grow by 15 percent to 18 percent in the next two years. 

 

“Growth will continue. There are so many investors coming in, mostly from the US, Australia and New Zealand,’’ Mercado noted.

 

Revenue streams

The Philippines has become the first choice of location by foreign companies because most Filipinos speak good English and the labor cost is relatively cheap, according to the IT-BPAP.

 

Industry revenue is expected to hit $21.2 billion this year and $25 billion in 2016, Mercado noted.

 

The current revenue streams consists of 77 percent from the US and Canada, 9 percent from Australia and New Zealand, 9 percent from Europe and 5 percent from Japan.

 

An estimated 1.03 million employees were working for the BPO industry last. Mercado said he expects the number of employees to reach 1.3 million this year, with the positions coming mostly from voice services which accounted for $11 billion of last year's revenues. – VS, GMA News