Lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure and dependency on other countries for medical supplies made it difficult for Indonesia to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic effectively. The country should turn the crisis into an opportunity and create strategies to strengthen its medical device sector, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Pratibha Thammanabhatla, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “COVID-19 crisis is a lesson to Indonesia and the government should now work towards encouraging domestic manufacturing of medical devices and foreign investments to expand its medical device sector.”

There is an alarming level of rise in the number of COVID-19 daily cases in Indonesia. Shortage of medical staff, protective gear and hospital beds is forcing Indonesia to use digital healthcare as one of the weapons to fight the virus. The popularity of telehealth firms such as Alodokter, Halodoc and GrabHealth has skyrocketed during the pandemic. This is expected to become a new norm post COVID-19 and further accelerate its thriving health care market.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Indonesia Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – CountryFocus’, reveals that Indonesia offers great opportunities for the adoption of technology in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient health informatics, hospital information system and tele-pharmacy are some of the healthcare areas where Indonesia is adopting technology.”

Indonesia is also working towards containing the spread of COVID-19 by eliminating price disparities by setting price ceiling for individually requested COVID-19 swabs and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests. The country aims to produce 70% of its medical supplies domestically as it realizes the need for being self-reliant.

Ms Thammanabhatla concludes: “Indonesia should now think of shifting its spending priorities to healthcare, social protection and infrastructure, and turn this crisis into an opportunity. This would not only prepare the nation for any health emergencies such as COVID-19 but also increase foreign investments, employment opportunities, open up new markets and create competences.”