Covid-19: Proof of World Class Health Quality in Indonesia
July 12, 2020
COVID -19 has changed the way people live, even in terms of health. People are now not free to go abroad for treatment. A number of countries, including Singapore, have banned new patients from coming for treatment in their country.
However, this does not mean that people cannot get international standard health services in Indonesia. In this country itself already has international health facilities.
A number of hospitals even have international accreditation and recognition by international institutions for the quality of health services. The Indonesian Medical Tourism Board (IMTB) stated that several clinics and hospitals are ready to provide world-class services for the people of Indonesia and the world.
Some of them are the Jakarta Eye Center (JEC) hospital, Morula IVF, Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital Jakarta, BIMC Siloam Nusa Dua, Sanglah Bali Hospital, Siloam Hospital Denpasar, several Awal Bros Hospitals, and many others. . A number of these hospitals are even able to compete with hospitals in Malaysia and Singapore which have been the reference for the Indonesian people.
"This Covid-19 pandemic condition should be a momentum for the Indonesian hospital industry to reclaim the domestic market that has been running abroad. With a hospital with the same quality and service as developed countries, people no longer need to seek treatment abroad, such as in Malaysia, Singapore, or Australia," said Yudiyantho, Director of IMTB (12/7/2020).
He continued, "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is actually a great opportunity for health service providers in Indonesia to be able to provide health services for those who are accustomed to traveling abroad for medical tourism."
Yudiyantho said, based on data released by the Indonesia Services Dialog (ISD), every year at least Indonesians spend Rp. 100 trillion to get health services abroad.
According to him, still from the same survey, the number of Indonesians seeking treatment abroad has increased by almost 100% over the last 10 years. If in 2006 there were 350 thousand patients, in 2015 it jumped to 600 thousand patients.
"This means that the potential for foreign exchange losses in the medical tourism sector is very large, even though Indonesia has clinics and hospitals with health services and technology that are not inferior to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore," he said.
To seize this moment, Yudiyanto said all stakeholders of Indonesian medical tourism must work together to seize the domestic market with the same goal.
"The key to seizing the domestic market is education and promotion to the people of Indonesia. We show that the quality and health services in Indonesia are very good," said Yudiyantho.
However, said Yudiyantho, in providing excellent health services and developing medical tourism in Indonesia, all stakeholders should issue policies that can support the domestic medical tourism program.
Of course, all of this will be able to run well with the full support of the government, especially from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, as well as related SOEs.
"That way, a synergy will be formed by helping the promotion together with the private sector so that Indonesia can compete in the world medical tourism arena," he said.
Yudiyanto added that the Covid-19 pandemic was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove the quality of medical services in Indonesia.
"All stakeholders have the same interest in achieving this goal, and despite the current focus of the health world on efforts to contain Covid-19, collective and coordinated efforts by preparing a mature strategy and work plan are indispensable for Indonesia to win in the medical tourism industry, " he said.
