Indonesia’s Largest Single-payer System BPJS Kesehatan Teams up with Local Health Apps Startup Halodoc to Improve Equal Access to Health Care Across the Country

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthcare & Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), the biggest single-payer system in Indonesia and in the world, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Halodoc, the most innovative online-based integrated health technology application from Indonesia to develop digital-based health services. Through this strategic collaboration, the two parties will jointly combine their expertise to expand equal access to health services digitally for people across Indonesia, especially BPJS Kesehatan participants.

Digitization has been revolutionizing the health sector in Indonesia, and BPJS Kesehatan has been at the forefront in adopting tech-led innovation to its operation to better realize quality and inclusive healthcare for their large number of participants in the country. For the record, as of September 2019, the number of participants in the National Health Insurance Program (JKN-KIS) has reached more than 221 million people. This is indeed a positive signal to the improvement of Indonesian people's literacy in their search for the quality of better health, in line with the 2015-2019 National Medium-Term Government Plan (RPJMN) with the main objective of making Indonesian people healthier. However, providing inclusive and quality healthcare for more than 80% of the total population in Indonesia is not a job for one. Offering the most integrated digital healthcare service in Indonesia, Halodoc naturally is the right partner for BPJS to realize the mission.

Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) - Rudiantara said, "The presence of technology provides a great opportunity to accelerate and expand access and services for the community. The government and business players must work together to do something so that this opportunity will not be wasted. We must create a digital ecosystem in the health sector that is conducive and inclusive for various levels of society throughout Indonesia. For that reason, I strongly support the synergy carried out by Halodoc, as the leading local startup technology company in the health sector, together with BPJS Kesehatan."

Technology and health care innovation has led to open health and easier access for the community even in the remote area. Today, Halodoc has been able to expand access and services of equal quality health for the community. Notably, more than 50% of Halodoc users are residents outside the island of Java, and 74% of them live outside Jakarta and Surabaya - the two largest cities in Indonesia. This proves that technology is able to bring equality of access and health services to people across Indonesia.

With that in mind, Halodoc CEO Jonathan Sudharta said, "Since its inception, Halodoc has been committed and focused on facilitating access to health for all Indonesian people through technology. This collaboration with BPJS Kesehatan provides opportunities for us to expand access and health services that are not only concentrated in big cities as we can also reach communities in remote areas, especially considering BPJS Kesehatan has the largest user base in Indonesia."

The technology is expected to facilitate the people of Indonesian to gain health access more easily, which will be a benefit for more than 260 million people who lived in 17.504 islands spreadly in the country. BPJS Director of Information Technology - Dr. Ir. Wahyuddin Bagenda, MM, said, "The use of technology in BPJS Kesehatan services has been our focus for the past few years, in order to optimize the quality of our services. One of them is Mobile JKN which is a digital transformation of membership administration services that have been carried out at branch offices. By combining Halodoc's expertise in technology, we hope to complement the user experience of health facilities, making them more inclusive, efficient and effective."

Furthermore, this strategic collaboration between Halodoc and BPJS Kesehatan will be the first step in developing technology in the Indonesian health sector, which is expected to reach more people in various regions in Indonesia. At the initial stage of this partnership, BPJS Kesehatan users will be given access and digital health services for Halodoc, including various health content, which are integrated with the JKN BPJS Health mobile application. This synergy is also hoped to be able to alleviate disparities between the population and the availability of health facilities and services in Indonesia.

About Halodoc

Halodoc is an online-based integrated health application that provides complete and reliable health solutions to facilitate our access to health. The Halodoc application is equipped with four main features, namely; Chat with a doctor that allows patients to chat, video calls, or voice calls with experienced and trusted doctors anytime anywhere from their cellular phone. Buy Medicines, a service that can help users buy supplements, vitamins, and medicines quickly, safely & comfortably because they are delivered directly to their address by online motorcycle taxis. Patients can also upload physical prescriptions to the application. Visit a hospital allows patients to make an appointment with a doctor from the cellphone so that when they arrive at the hospital they do not need to trouble themselves with administration and can directly consult with doctors without having to wait in a long line, and Lab Services. Halodoc works closely with Prodia in making it easy for users to conduct health checks, both at home or in the office. In 2018, Halodoc received the "The Most Innovative Start-Up" award from Galen Growth Asia and was chosen directly by Forbes Indonesia as the "Start-Up Choice" for that year.

About BPJS Kesehatan

The Healthcare & Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) is a legal entity formed to organize a health insurance program for the Indonesian population. BPJS Health has a vision to realize quality health insurance without discrimination with a mission 1) to provide the best service to participants and the community 2) to expand participation in the health insurance program to cover all Indonesians 3) together to maintain the financial sustainability of the health insurance program.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20191011/2608667-1