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Editorial: The Forgotten Side Of Health Care
October 08, 2010

The private sector has an important role to play in raising the standard as well as the supply of health-care services in the country. Through innovation and efficiency, quality medical services can become affordable and accessible to all. (AFP Photo) The private sector has an important role to play in raising the standard as well as the supply of health-care services in the country. Through innovation and efficiency, quality medical services can become affordable and accessible to all. (AFP Photo)
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It is no secret that Indonesia’s health-care system is woefully inadequate and in urgent need of reform. Public hospitals are understaffed, under-equipped and more often than not lacking the proper maintenance. Added to that is the problem of an insufficient number of private hospitals to meet growing demand. As a result, thousands of Indonesians go abroad each year for medical treatment.

Mental health facilities are even scarcer than those for medical health.

This problem was highlighted by a report released yesterday.

Despite the high number of Indonesians who suffer from serious mental illness, the country has a very limited number of mental institutions, professional staff and medicine necessary to treat sufferers of mental health problems.

According to the health ministry, there are only 35 psychiatric hospitals across Indonesia while the estimated number of people with serious mental problems stands at an estimated minimum of 650,000.

A 2007 survey conducted by the Health Ministry found that at least 2.1 million Indonesians suffer from mental illnesses ranging from mild conditions such as attention-deficit disorder, to severe ones such as schizophrenia.

There is therefore an urgent need for the government to be aware of the problem and take the necessary steps to address it.

It is clear that the government cannot meet its obligation to provide basic health care to the Indonesian people today, and we can expect the problem to only worsen in the future as the population continues to grow rapidly.

Therefore, we urgently need a breakthrough — something drastic and transformational in the country’s health-care industry.

If the government lacks the resources to meet the public’s need, we must get the market and the private sector to intervene with an infusion of capital, expertise, creativity, productivity and scale.

The private sector has an important role to play in raising the standard as well as the supply of health-care services in the country. Through innovation and efficiency, quality medical services can become affordable and accessible to all.

But such a contribution can only take place under favorable conditions, something that the government can assure with an appropriate regulatory environment.

The private sector would be able to deliver high-quality, affordable health care if it was not hampered by restrictive regulations and unnecessary red tape.

No less important is the need for the government to expand education and training to build an adequate manpower base to work in the health sector.

By having greater private-sector involvement, Indonesians would be able to enjoy world-class quality in health and medical services.

Getting there will require a shift in mindset within the government toward bold thinking and transformational ideas. It can and must be done.