“This tiered referral system will encourage regions to invest not only in more hospital beds but also in human resources and facilities for future hospital development,” Harbuwono said here Tuesday.
Under the new system, smaller hospitals will be motivated to provide high-quality, specialized services. Previously, hospital categories—A, B, and C—were determined solely by the number of beds, with larger hospitals ranked higher.
Harbuwono dismissed concerns that hospitals with specific competencies would face overcrowding.
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“In fact, smaller hospitals can develop their quality to match Class A facilities. Patients are actually distributed to smaller hospitals that provide high-quality services,” he said.
He cited a hospital with advanced obstetrics services capable of chemotherapy and oncology surgeries. Despite having the bed capacity of a Class C hospital, its specialized capabilities qualify it as a comprehensive, or Class A, facility.
“It is not the number of beds but the competence of services that determines whether a hospital is Class A, B, or C,” he explained.
The ministry plans to implement the competency-based referral system in early 2026.
“It will be implemented as soon as possible. We hope it will start by early 2026, following pilot studies in Yogyakarta and Bandung,” he added.
Bandung currently has eight competency-based hospitals operating to evaluate the new referral system for integration with BPJS Health.
The ministry currently classifies health services into four levels: basic (community health centers), intermediate hospitals (RS Madya), advanced hospitals (RS Utama), and superior hospitals (RS Paripurna).
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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