By May Niña Celynne P. Layug / DTI – Foreign Trade Service Corps
07 Marxh 2018
Published also in Business Mirror
HOUSTON, Texas—The Philippines Healthcare Information Management Services (HIMS) Trade and Investment Roadshow to the United States, with the theme “Unlocking Opportunities. Embracing Innovation,” held a business forum and outreach in Houston, Texas, on March 1 and 2.
Texas Honorary Consul General Ethel Mercado welcomed the Philippine delegation, headed by DTI-Trade and Investments Promotion Group (DTI-TIPG) Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado and composed of officials from the DTI-Board of Investments (BOI) and Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), Philippine business-process management (BPM) industry leaders and representatives from 13 companies providing information-technology and HIMS-BPM services.
Attended by health-care professionals and business owners ranging from small to large health-care facilities and institutions, the business forum held at the Texas Medical Center Third Coast Restaurant highlighted the Philippines’s strong economic growth that translates to more enhanced partnership opportunities between the Philippines and the Houston health-care industry.
The delegation served as ambassadors in promoting the sector’s strengths, advantages and capabilities. Company visits to the top 3 health facilities in Houston, namely, Memorial Hermann, Methodist, and CHI St. Luke’s Health, as well as Kindred and HealthSouth facilitated discussions on the impact of technology on health care-information management.
“As we see the transformative effect of the Internet of Things in the health-care industry, the Philippines will continue to advance the complementation of our services and these emerging technologies. It also gives pride to the Philippines on the increasing role of overseas Filipino investors [OFIs] in Houston’s healthcare and IT-BPM sector that have established their own respective facilities. We will continue to enhance our services to ensure we bring value to our OFIs, as well,” Terrado said.
The Houston business forum and outreach was the second track of the 2018 Philippines HIMS Trade and Investment Roadshows in the United States organized by the BOI and EMB in close coordination with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center Los Angeles and the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce-Texas.
The delegation recently concluded the New York business forum and business-to-business meetings and will now proceed to Las Vegas for the country’s participation in the 2018 HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition, which will be attended by around 40,000 professionals, executives and vendors in the IT/HIM industry worldwide, making a vast potential for networking and investment opportunities for the country.
The Philippines remains one of the leading suppliers of HIMS services worldwide, with 118,245 full-time employees (FTEs) and revenue of $2.41 billion in 2016. The road show is part of the continuous efforts of the Philippines to help the HIMS-BPM industry reach its $5- billion revenue and 210,000 FTEs target by 2022.