"It is hoped that, with this step, the burden on health centers to provide curative services can be reduced, so that (puskesmas) perform more of their function to encourage promotive and preventive (health) efforts,” he said at the Indonesian Health Resilience and Independence webinar, organized on Thursday by the board of trustees of the University of Indonesia.
The Vice President observed that existing puskesmas are currently focusing on curative health services or on healing diseases, neglecting their main function of educating the public on healthy living.
The number of health centers nationwide, which stands at 10,134, is also not ideal considering the number of people they cater to, and this has resulted in promotive and preventive services becoming increasingly limited, he noted.
"I see an opportunity to increase the availability of these health facilities in the future, through the involvement of state-owned and private clinics, to become part of the first-level health facilities and become gatekeepers for handling curative efforts," he said.
According to the Vice President, the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a lesson for the government to strengthen the health service system, and one of the ways to ensure this is strengthening first-level health facilities.
"In a large country, which has a national health insurance system (JKN) based on health insurance, the optimal service of the first-level health facilities is a must," he said.
Therefore, with the assistance of state-owned and private health clinics, the puskesmas can increase their function as providers of health services that are promotive as well as preventive, he remarked. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Fransiska N, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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