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More Indonesians seeking medical treatment abroad
When doctors told Pina Purnomo her father would have to undergo surgery with only a 50 percent chance it would fix the problem, she and her family opted to seek medical assistance abroad
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When doctors told Pina Purnomo her father would have to undergo surgery with only a 50 percent chance it would fix the problem, she and her family opted to seek medical assistance abroad.
“We chose Singapore based on recommendations we received from family and friends. Besides, it is not too far away from here.
“He needed chemotherapy so we went back and forth to Singapore during 2003 and 2004,” she said.
Pina is one of the many people in Indonesia who are looking for medical treatment for themselves or loved ones in other countries.
Ichwan Zulhidzaan, Vice President of Garuda Sentra Medika, a health center owned by PT Garuda Indonesia Airways, said that more and more Indonesian are seeking medical help abroad because better and cheaper services are available.
He said the travel clinic facility at Garuda Sentra Medika has attracted significant interest.
“Medical tourism or medical travel has become a business with a vast market.”
Concerns over the poor quality of Indonesia’s medical services have been growing after several high profile malpractice cases in recent years.
Prita Mulyasari is just the latest victim. She was sued for defamation by the Omni International Hospital in Tangerang, Banten, after complaining online about the way the hospital treated her. The charges against Prita may have been dropped, but the case highlights the fact that patients in Indonesia have no rights. This is why those who can afford to do so flee to other countries to get medical treatment.
In 2007, 600,000 people visited Thailand for medical travel; 400,000 went to India. In 2006, 300,000 Indonesians went to Singapore for medical treatment, according to Ichwan.
“People tend to seek medical help abroad because services are less expensive there, and they can also do a bit of tourism while they are there.”
To cater to the growing market, Garuda Sentra Medika is conjunction with Sun Health Care, an offshoot of a local company El John, has formed Garuda Air Ambulance Indonesia.
Chief Operating Officer of Sun Health Care, Johnnie Sugiarto, said the air ambulance service can provide a wide range of services under one roof.
“When patients need medical treatment, they only need to contact our call center and we will arrange everything, including appointing doctors abroad and arranging for ambulances to pick them up and drop them off at home or hospitals,” he said at a soft launch of the service held in Jakarta on Monday.
Sun Health Care has been providing such services in small cities in the country under the brand name Indonesia Air Ambulance.
Garuda Sentra Medika, on the other hand, mostly caters to patients in big cities or abroad.
“Basically we are joining forces,” Ichwan said.
The service will cover all cities in Indonesia and countries abroad which allow Garuda Indonesia flights.
“We will be able to cater to patients wishing to fly to or from Singapore, Bangkok or Tokyo,” he said.
He added that patients often request to fly on privately chartered aircraft, which are not provided by his company, but are available with the Indonesia Air Ambulance service.
“We will also merge our medical teams to improve the quality of service,” he said. (adh)
