"Not all countries have telemedicine services. Indonesia is more progressive," he said during a symposium on digital economy and sustainability in Jakarta.
Telemedicine is the provision of healthcare services through electronic information and communication technologies. It allows patients to access healthcare services from a remote location, without having to travel to a doctor's office or hospital.
While relatively new in Indonesia, telemedicine is widely used by the public.
Hartarto said that telemedicine has become one of the industries that has made a major contribution to Indonesia's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That for telemedicine is one of the things that solves COVID-19, therefore Indonesia has become one of the five best in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University," he added.
He informed that his ministry has continued to promote the industry through several strategies, such as boosting the production and development of generic medicines to make them more accessible and affordable for the Indonesians.
"Secondly, to accelerate the clinical trial through data from AloDokter (a telemedicine company), third, do not forget to ask for intellectual property sharing," he added.
Co-founder and President Director of AloDokter, Suci Arumsari, said that the telemedicine industry is one of the industries that grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She revealed that the number of customers of AloDokter in Indonesia rose 100–200 percent during the pandemic.
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Translator: Yoanita Hastryka Djohan
Editor: Anton Santoso
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