Every year, the Philippines trains tens of thousands of nurses, and for many of them, the path to a better career has meant leaving the country. The growth of Healthcare Information Management Services (HIMS) has the potential to change that, giving healthcare professionals the chance to put their skills to work at home. As automation and artificial intelligence reshape the industry, the question now is how to grow this workforce and its capabilities without losing sight of the care at the heart of its work.

The numbers show what's at stake. In 2025 alone, more than 47,000 Filipinos passed the nursing licensure exam and became registered nurses, based on results from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) estimated that as of 2021, about 316,000 licensed Filipino nurses, just over half of all those qualified, had migrated overseas.

The challenge of building and keeping this workforce frames HIMSCON 2026, returning on October 8 to 9 at Bonifacio Hall, Shangri-La The Fort, BGC. This year's theme is "Charting the Future of HIMS: Elevating Skills, Harnessing Technology, Redefining Roles while Sustaining Care at the Core."

Organized by the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP), the annual conference brings together top executives, healthcare leaders, policymakers, and educators to gain insights into the forces shaping the sector while opening doors to partnerships and collaboration. As the country's leading association for healthcare information management and IT-BPM, HIMAP works to develop the workforce, shape policy, and promote the Philippines as a preferred global destination for healthcare services.

As more global companies look to the Philippines for healthcare services, HIMSCON aims to prepare the industry for the opportunities ahead, with a strong focus on talent development, upskilling, and reskilling. Over two days, attendees will engage through keynotes, live polls, fireside chats, and panel discussions built around five key areas:

Setting the strategic horizon for HIMS in 2027 and beyond
Elevating skills to meet challenges and opportunities in core clinical competencies
Harnessing automation and artificial intelligence in healthcare information work
Redefining professional roles as AI-assisted services emerge
Sustaining care by preserving the culture of human compassion at the heart of healthcare

"The future of this industry is built through the decisions and investments we make in the present. HIMSCON creates a space for strategic conversations that challenge assumptions and spark innovation to enhance the ability to compete in the global market." — JL Botor, President of HIMAP

Supporting the Industry's Next Chapter

For years, the country's outsourcing industry was known mainly for its strength in voice and call center services. Today, healthcare is becoming a larger part of that story. According to HIMAP, the HIMS sector generated $4.2 billion in revenue and employed about 190,000 full-time professionals in 2024, and it is projected to grow by around 9% a year through 2028. The industry has come a long way since HIMAP began in 2003 as an association of medical transcription companies. It now spans revenue cycle management, clinical support, healthcare IT, and pharma and life sciences, covering everything from medical coding and claims processing to utilization review and drug safety monitoring for clinical trials.

That growth rests on talent, and the opportunity reaches well beyond nurses. Filipino nurses and healthcare graduates bring clinical training that translates directly into roles such as medical coding and clinical documentation. The Philippines is also among the largest sources of registered nurses in the United States, which helps explain the country's reputation among healthcare clients in North America. Many HIMS roles, however, don't require a clinical license. Medical billing, claims processing, and voice-based work such as claim status inquiries draw on skills built in the contact center industry, giving the many Filipinos who started in voice operations a path into more specialized work.

While HIMAP focuses on the people, we focus on the space where that work happens. Through our Tenant Representation services, we work with healthcare companies entering or expanding in the Philippines to find locations that suit their talent needs and growth plans, whether in Metro Manila or in provincial hubs like Cebu, Iloilo, and Clark. That choice matters. In our 1H 2026 Office Market report, IT-BPM firms accounted for 155,000 sqm, or 44%, of the 353,000 sqm active office requirements pipeline, making them the largest source of upcoming demand. Meanwhile, BGC has only five buildings offering 5,000 sqm or more of contiguous space, and PEZA-accredited options are even more limited.

Our Co-Founder and Executive Director, Lylah Fronda-Ledonio, who also heads our Tenant Representation team, sits on HIMAP's Board of Trustees, bringing a real estate perspective to discussions on the industry's expansion, operating costs, and site strategy.

"We're seeing more and more investors interested in setting up healthcare operations in the Philippines, and much of that comes down to our talent. Growing this industry opens more opportunities for Filipinos, from nurses to contact center professionals, to build their careers here at home. HIMAP is preparing that talent, and we help companies find the right place to grow." — Lylah Fronda-Ledonio, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Leechiu Property Consultants

We at Leechiu Property Consultants are proud to support HIMSCON 2026 as a sponsor.