Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono has said that digital health transformation is important for the community, especially for those who live in remote areas.

"Digital health transformation is needed in remote areas to overcome the problem of limited specialist doctors," he stressed at a press conference after the 2023 Health Innovation Day event in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said that digital health transformation would support the medical examination of patients in remote areas.

In addition, digital health transformation carried out by the Ministry of Health is also a part of the government's efforts to improve health service efficiency to optimally serve the health needs of people in remote areas, he added.

"Some things require simplification, such as a microscope that can make images and can be sent. This will help the anatomical pathology services," he continued.

According to him, digital health transformation in Indonesia could also involve telepharmacy, which would link drug distribution in all regions of Indonesia.

He said that the digital health transformation breakthrough has been triggered due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the entire globe.

"COVID-19 has made us realize that health resilience is based on digital health if we want to do it more efficiently," he added.

As part of an effort to realize the digital transformation of health, the Ministry of Health held the 2023 Health Innovation Sprint Accelerator program, an incubation program for start-ups and innovators in the health sector.

The ministry also held a Fight for Access Accelerator, a program for enabling female start-up activists to work and innovate in the health sector.

"Even though the names of the winners have been announced, the real winners are all innovators because they have dedicated themselves to developing the digital health transformation for the community," he added.

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Translator: Sean Filo M, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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