Hospitals struggle to survive during crisis<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Hospital Association (PERSI) on
\nMonday warned of mass hospital closures across the country if the
\neconomy did not rebound.<\/p>\n
\"Most Indonesian hospitals are still suffering from the
\neconomic crisis which began in 1997\", the Association's chairman
\nDr. A.W. Boediarso told journalists here.<\/p>\n
Boediarso said that 1999 has been a fortunate a year as there
\nwere no reports of closures from its 1,100 member hospitals.<\/p>\n
However he pointed to the potential of a breakdown in the
\nhealth care system if the economy continued to stagnate, pointing
\nto the fact that 60 percent of hospitals in the Association were
\nnear to shutting down at the height of the economic crisis in
\n1998.<\/p>\n
He said for most hospitals it was merely a struggle to
\nsurvive.<\/p>\n
\"Most of our members currently only aim to survive by engaging
\nin various efficiency measures until conditions recover,\"
\nBoediarso said.<\/p>\n
Despite these measures, Boediarso claimed that hospitals were
\nstill doing their utmost to maintain the quality of their medical
\nservices.<\/p>\n
He argued that the situation has been exacebated by the fact
\nthat hospitals cannot raise the prices of their services to the
\npublic.<\/p>\n
He blamed the decline in hospital revenue as the main cause of
\nthe problems facing hospitals in Indonesia, which was a direct
\nresult of the decreasing public spending power during the
\neconomic crisis.<\/p>\n
\"While people's purchasing power has declined, hospitals'
\noperational costs have soared due to the hike in the price of
\nmedicines and medical equipment, most of which are still
\nimported,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar in 1998
\ncaused the cost of imported medicines to surge by almost 300
\npercent.<\/p>\n
\"Once prices go up, they are unlikely to go down,\" Boediarso
\nlamented.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Dr. Hartono, a committee member of the Association
\nsaid, \"In the last two years, our members could only survive by
\ndepending on cash flow, without considering loss and profit<\/p>\n
\"Most hospitals, especially the ones located out of town,
\nhave experienced a bed occupancy rate below 50 percent,\" he said,
\nnoting that hospitals need at least a 60 to 70 percent occupancy
\nrate to survive.<\/p>\n
Hartono conceded that the \"social role\" perscribed to
\nhospitals, in some form or another, added to the immense economic
\nburden these hospitals had to bare.<\/p>\n
According to a government regulation, state hospitals must
\nallocate at least 25 percent of their total beds to accomodate
\npoor families, for a low tariff, while for private hospitals the
\nallocation is 10 percent.<\/p>\n
Another Association committee member, Dr. Wasista, noted that
\none way hospitals were trimming costs was by converting from
\nbrand name to generic medicines.<\/p>\n
\"PERSI is currently establishing a purchasing alliance group,
\naimed at helping to boost its bargaining power against medicine
\nand medical equipment suppliers and distributors,\" Wasista said,
\nadding that the alliance was expected to be effective from next
\nyear.<\/p>\n
He expressed hope that by making such joint purchases in bulk,
\nprices could be reduced by 30 percent.(02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hospitals-struggle-to-survive-during-crisis-1447893297",
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