Philippines Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Philippines, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
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Healthcare
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Overview

The Philippine healthcare system is divided between the public and private sectors. Public hospitals and barangay health centers primarily focus on preventive care and primary health services while also leading public education on health issues. Barangay health services offer basic services such as immunizations and maternal care. At the same time, public regional and national hospitals are responsible for tertiary care. According to Statista.com, barangay health centers are the most prevalent health facilities in the Philippines, with approximately 26,500 centers nationwide, followed by general clinic laboratories and birthing homes, which number around 3,400 and 3,300, respectively. There are roughly 1,341 hospitals in the country.

Private hospitals focus on specialized care for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, pulmonology, and orthopedics. Private hospital growth is driven by local conglomerates’ acquisition of hospitals in adjacent urban areas near major cities. The Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) has the most extensive portfolio, with 27 hospitals across the Philippines. MPIC plans to acquire four more in 2025. Ayala Corporation’s AC Health focuses on specialty clinics, ambulatory centers, and the pharmaceutical supply chain. 

Most health facilities are in the CALABARZON region (Region 4-A), which includes the following provinces: Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Quezon, which have around 4,777 health facilities. Followed by Central Luzon’s (Region 3) seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales with about 4,444 health facilities. The National Capital Region (Metropolitan Manila) includes sixteen independent cities and one independent municipality) with 2,979 health facilities.
The top three causes of death in the Philippines in 2024 were ischemic heart diseases (19.3 percent), neoplasms (11.1 percent), and cerebrovascular diseases (9.9 percent).

In 2019, the Universal Healthcare Law passed, allowing all Filipinos, including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), to be included in the government’s national insurance system or PhilHealth, granting eligibility for all health benefits packages, whether in private or public hospitals. In June 2023, Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa, as the Secretary of the Philippine Department of Health, laid out an eight-point agenda that prioritizes accessibility of healthcare services, usage of technology for efficient delivery of healthcare services, crisis preparedness, disease prevention, mental health awareness, health worker welfare and rights, and protection against any pandemic.  

Although the government has expanded its healthcare services, it only spends about 5 percent of the country’s GDP on healthcare, which still results in out-of-pocket expenses for Filipinos. In 2020, the Philippine government released the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan 2020 – 2040, which lays out the government’s medium- and long-term plans articulating the investment requirements, in coordination with local government units (LGUs), needed to ensure that all Filipinos have access to adequate, reliable, and efficient healthcare system. In 2023, President Marcos further emphasized the importance of the PPP model to encourage more investments in healthcare. Numerous healthcare projects under the PPP center exist, ranging from the design, construction, and operation of urban hospitals to hemodialysis centers, as well as the procurement of capital equipment and hospital expansions.

With high out-of-pocket expenses, it is important for U.S. suppliers to consider competitive prices when exploring the Philippine market. Demand for quality U.S. manufactured equipment is high, but it must compete with the other countries. The Philippine healthcare market has opportunities for health IT, particularly in electronic medical records (EMR) systems, medical tourism, and medical equipment particularly on managing chronic diseases and precision diagnostic equipment. 

Market Opportunities 

Health IT

Health IT is an evolving and emerging process in the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Health’s eight-point agenda promotes the use of technology to efficiently deliver healthcare services, streamline processes, and centralize healthcare data, enabling better information sharing and simplifying claims processing under PhilHealth and other insurance providers, thereby improving the patient experience. The Unified Health Management Information System was introduced in 2023 to enhance and strengthen data collection, processes, and reporting, thereby improving health service efficiency and enabling better policy formulation through accurate data. 

Many big private hospitals have adopted a paperless EMR system. Progressive local city governments, such as Makati City and Pasig City, have prioritized the digitalization of healthcare services to enhance accessibility and transparency. In contrast, smaller hospitals, especially those in rural areas, still rely on pen and paper for all their documentation. While internet connectivity remains a challenge for provinces and rural regions, this presents an opportunity for U.S. service providers to develop EMR systems that can be transmitted easily, are scalable, and can be integrated into current systems.

Medical Diagnostic Equipment

The Philippine medical device industry is highly dependent on imports. Currently, almost all medical devices are imported, with the United States accounting for 12.3 percent of the market share. Other top suppliers include China (20.5 percent), Singapore (10.5 percent), Germany (9.8 percent) and Japan (8.6 percent).  Major medical device companies present in the country include Baxter, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, GE Healthcare, and Varian.  Chinese medical devices hold a significant share as their competitive prices and products are readily available.  Local production is limited to hospital furniture, medical disposables, prototypes and spare parts. 

U.S. medical device manufacturers may find export opportunities for low-volume, high-value equipment to strengthen the current efforts of hospitals on specialized services to diagnose and manage chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, respiratory diseases, cancer, heart and lung problems, obesity, and malnutrition, which are the main causes of deaths in the country. The Philippine Government is pushing for more healthcare projects using the PPP model to encourage more investments in the public healthcare space. Currently, there are 25 healthcare projects ranging from the design, construction, and operation of urban hospitals to hemodialysis centers, as well as the procurement of capital equipment and hospital expansions.

Innovative medical devices like advanced point-of-care devices, diagnostic devices, and cancer treatment devices present a possible opportunity in the Philippine Medical Tourism industry. 

The Philippines is seen as an emerging medical tourism country and currently ranks above 23 out of 46 countries as a medical tourism destination. The Philippine Department of Tourism has included medical tourism as one of its priorities under the National Tourism Development Plan for 2023 – 2028 to aggressively push the country to develop its healthcare facilities and services. Currently, 23 health facilities are internationally accredited and recognized by the International Society for Health Care. Moreover, more than 60 hospitals are near international airports. 

The Philippines aligns itself with the ASEAN Medical Device Directive (AMDD), which classifies medical devices into four classes: A, B, C, and D, and ranks low to high risk. Medical devices classified under Class A must obtain a Certificate of Medical Device Notification (CMDN). For medical devices classified under Classes B, C, and D, companies should apply for the CMDN and the Certificate of Medical Device Registration (CMDR) at least three months before the CMDN expiration.  
However, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration is still crafting in vitro diagnostics (IVD) regulations. The subcategories for IVD are as follows: IVDs for commercial distribution, government internationally procured IVDs, Donated Brand New IVDs, Research Use Only (RUO) IVDs, IVDs that are not intended for Commercial Distribution, and Imported IVDs for Personal Use. Each subcategory has varying regulatory requirements.  

U.S. manufacturers looking to enter the Philippine market should appoint a local distributor to handle all aspects of registration with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, as well as in-country marketing, sales, and after-sales support. 

Resources

•    Department of Health
•    Food and Drug Administration
•    Medical Device Association of the Philippines
•    Philippine Association of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs Professional (PAMDRAP)
•    Healthcare Technology Association of the Philippines (HTAP)
•    Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP)
 

Contact Information
Katrina Domingo, Commercial Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service Philippines
Email: Katrina.Domingo@trade.gov

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