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As a first step in improving the quality of health care, the Health Ministry has announced plans for a wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of more than 10,000 hospitals, clinics and laboratories across the country.

“There are lots of countries trying to develop their health services, so if we want to compete we have to pinpoint the exact problems we have here,” Dede Anwar Musadad, the head of the ministry’s public health intervention unit, said on Thursday.

Anwar said the survey was necessary to map out existing health supplies and equipment, as well as to get a better picture of health care disparities between provinces.

“We need to have a clear description of the state of patient safety and the responsiveness of health facilities,” he said.

The survey, which is expected to cost nearly Rp 100 billion ($11.4 million), will be used to draw up an index detailing the performance of the country’s health facilities, he said.

It will also record the number of health workers in the country, available medical equipment and the quality of the organization and management of the facilities.

Hariman, a researcher at the ministry’s research and development agency and the operational head of the survey, said the budget for this project was so big because the ministry would be checking every hospital, community health center (Puskesmas) and independent laboratory in the country.

“There are a lot places that are difficult to reach like in Papua, but we have to check all the hospitals and Puskesmas there, so of course it will cost a lot,” he said. The government, he added, might need to rent planes to survey health facilities in remote areas.

Hariman said the survey, the results of which are expected to be announced in November, was already running into resistance from several health facilities that were afraid they might end up at the bottom of the list because of bad performance.

“The hospital, Puskesmas and laboratory performance index will be made public,” he said, “but it is not meant to embarrass the health facilities. Instead, it is meant as a corrective effort, so they can do better.”

Anwar said the country had 1,253 hospitals operated by the government, military, state-owned companies or private institutions, more than 9,000 Puskesmas and 717 independent laboratories that were not attached to any hospital.

Each of these facilities, he said, will be checked within the next few months.

Anwar said the health minister would send letters urging all institutions to cooperate with the survey.