“Change is here, and it is much more disruptive than ever before.”

Amil Backliwal, vice president, Tech & Services, QuintilesIMS Health China & South East Asia

The Philippines is a country experiencing tremendous growth, nearly seven percent in 2015, a trend forecasted to continue in the near future, representing huge opportunities in the healthcare and life sciences sector. To better assist their customers in capitalizing on this growth, QuintilesIMS Health recently held an event titled ‘The Future of Insight Driven Customer Engagement’ in Manila.

During the discussions on trends within Filipino healthcare, one word in particular was repeatedly raised: growth. “Over the last few years we have experienced very high growth” states Angela Yik, general manager of QuintilesIMS Health Asia Mid-Markets, noting the fact that, with this growth, “patients having an increased ability to pay for medicines and are becoming more sophisticated in terms of education.” Considering the fact that the Philippines has a population greater than 100 million, this increase in purchasing power represents huge opportunities for the healthcare industry, yet it has also caused many changes that stakeholders must adapt to.

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“As an industry, unfortunately we do not like change; we do exactly what we have done in the past. However, that is changing” according to Amil Backliwal, vice president, Tech & Services, QuintilesIMS Health China & South East Asia. Backliwal adds that “change is here, and it is much more disruptive than ever before.” One of the key ways the industry must adapt to these changes and remain competitive is through insight-driven customer engagement. “There is something wrong with the way we are engaging with our customers, it seems to be outdated” notes Richie Etwaru, chief digital officer (CDO) for QuintilesIMS Health Global. Through tailored analytics, QuintilesIMS can help their clients engage more effectively, Etwaru commenting that this new technology truly represents a “new layer of capability.”

Throughout the event the significant and disruptive role that technology was having in the healthcare industry was made clear. However, the changes being seen due to new technologies is not limited to the healthcare and life sciences industry. This point was made evident through a presentation by Jose Gabriel La Vina, who served as Social Media Director for the Duterte 2016 Presidential campaign, during which he spoke about the huge impact social media had during the Philippines’ most recent election.

To say the dynamic, rapidly developing healthcare sector in the Philippines is full of potential is an understatement, and how companies evolve to best capture its growth will be fascinating to see. What is clear, however, is that through their ever-expanding portfolio of services, offering tailored analytics and tools for insight driven customer engagement, QuintilesIMS has become the partner of choice for the healthcare and life sciences industry, both locally in the Philippines and across the world.

Writer: Brandon Mourich