IT healthcare spending seen growing by 4%

PHILIPPINE IT healthcare spending is expected to hit $60 million in 2019, led by spending from both the private and public sectors, which was in line with regional trends, research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) said.

IDC, which reported that healthcare IT spending last year hit $52.4 million, said the Philippines was poised to hit a compound annual growth rate of 4 percent from 2016 to 2019. This was contained in its Philippines: Healthcare IT Spend Market Analysis, Forecasts and Trends report.

ICD said in a statement that the largest spending group in terms of healthcare IT came from providers, such as hospitals, which accounted for 88 percent of the total pie in 2015. Moreover, spending on the hardware segment is the highest at 79 percent share, with services and software spending ranking second and third.

IDC said the trend “clearly indicated the country’s current priority is focused on upgrading existing IT infrastructure.” It said the spending was “consistent” with many other countries in the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean).

“At present, spending on healthcare IT is still limited, with clear disparities between the private and the public sectors,” IDC Philippines head of operations Jubert Alberto said in the statement.

“The private sector, which aims for medical tourism impetus, is the leader when it comes to IT adoption. Meanwhile, IT spending in the public sector is still centered on developing hardware infrastructure as the government aims to make existing health services more accessible,” he said.

In line with these goals, telehealth and virtual care services are expected to play a crucial role in achieving this objective, IDC said.