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Public partnership key to efficient health care, Health UK says
A stronger partnership between state and private healthcare providers in Indonesia is among key criteria needed for the countryâs universal healthcare program to be implemented efficiently, says Healthcare UK managing director Howard Lyons
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stronger partnership between state and private healthcare providers in Indonesia is among key criteria needed for the country's universal healthcare program to be implemented efficiently, says Healthcare UK managing director Howard Lyons.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Lyons elaborated that Indonesia's implementation of a mandatory national health insurance (JKN) program for all citizens at the beginning of 2014 would benefit from such partnerships in terms of providing healthcare facilities and improving the service.
'The UK started its public-private partnerships in the 1990s in sectors such as education, roads and health care. Through that system, we managed to build 130 new hospitals in the course of 10 years, increasing our stock of modern health facilities,' Lyons said.
He added that the flourishing private healthcare sector in Indonesia would benefit from systematic changes, such as intensified usage of 'digital health' services linked to mobile applications
'The use and development of healthcare mobile applications could potentially increase a general practitioner's monitoring of a patient's condition, saving the patient from expensive hospital visits,' he added.
The UK's own national healthcare program, the National Health Service (NHS), has been operating since 1948 and was declared the world's best healtcare system in June 2014 by American healthcare foundation Commonwealth Fund.
One of the successful aspects of the NHS, according to Lyons, is the system's database, which records every single hospital visit made by UK citizens over the past 30 years.
He explained that if Indonesia were to have this system, research institutions could easily identify which illnesses were developing in particular regions, as well as provide information on the needs of a certain patient through consulting with their general practitioner. The training of health workers is also a crucial part in developing a good healthcare system, Lyons add.
'Training and education is a crucial area to develop as well. We are able to offer Indonesian medical workers help in enhancing their postgraduate skills in medicine or nursing in the UK in order for the country to improve its system,' he said.
Lyons expressed the UK's interest in working with the Health Ministry of the upcomingJoko 'Jokowi' Widodo government in developing and improving Indonesian healthcare services.
Indonesia's nationwide JKN program is ma aged by the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS).
The non-profit body also manages health insurance previously offered by PT Askes ' a former entity that became the BPJS '
PT Jamsostek and PT Asabri.Based on BPJS data, as of Aug. 8, the program covered 126.4 million
people in total and cooperated with 1,551 hospitals nationwide.
The program aims to cover the entire Indonesian population by 2019. Indonesians not yet covered by this program can access services by applying for membership online. As the program does not use a reimbursement system, members only need show their BPJS cards at hospitals. (dyl)
