Jakarta (ANTARA) - The development plan of the COVID-19 tracking app PeduliLindungi includes the addition of a feature that will allow users to book appointments with doctors at health facilities, according to the Health Ministry.

"The Ministry of Health is preparing the transition of PeduliLindungi as a #GakCumaCOVID19 (#Not only for COVID-19) public health application. It will include many services, including the doctor's appointment feature, which is already in our plan," chief of the ministry's Digital Transformation Office (DTO) Setiaji told ANTARA here on Wednesday.

In addition to the doctor's appointment feature, the DTO team will also add child immunization certificates, reminders for taking medicines, and telemedicine feature expansion.

Currently, PeduliLindungi has a total of 60 million active users each month.

As part of its development plan, the app will also be equipped with features that can detect infectious and non-communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria.

Based on users’ approval, the app will have access to electronic medical records integrated with the SatuSehat (One Health) platform and connected with the National Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

"We hope this public health app will have wider benefits and will not be limited to COVID-19," Setiaji said.

Earlier, a similar feature allowing users to book doctor's appointments was rolled out by Malaysia's MySejahtera.

The Malaysian government is supporting the booking of appointments between patients and doctors via the MySejahtera app, which has now been integrated with many healthcare facilities.

The services available under the appointment feature include the treatment of patients with external injuries, health screening, pre-employment health exam, pre-marriage health screening, even encouragement to stop smoking, and patient treatment and care procedures.

Meanwhile, the PeduliLindungi application can be used to find vaccination centers providing the fourth dose or second booster of the COVID-19 vaccine. The application allows people to check the locations where vaccinations are being provided.

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Translator: Andi F, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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