Standardization of hospital equipment urged

Standardization of hospital equipment urged

JAKARTA (JP): In an attempt to meet massive domestic demand
for affordable and secure health machinery, the Indonesian
Hospital Association (Persi) called on Monday for the
standardization of the country's health equipment.

"It's outrageous that all along we don't have any institution
in charge of regulating the standard quality for health tools in
the country," the association's chief of general affairs Robert
Imam Sutedja said during a media briefing.

An authorized board that can declare the safety and quality of
the devices used in the treatment of humans must be established,
he said.

"Political will from the government is badly needed. We are
talking about people's lives here," he said, adding that the
board can be facilitated by the health ministry along with the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

The ironic thing is that many Indonesian health products are
exported overseas and hospitals end up buying them back with
certified foreign labels and at much higher prices, Robert said.

He cited an example of how hospitals still imported a simple
Chinese-made incubator worth some Rp 15 million, which would be a
lot cheaper if it was produced here.

"Such things happen due to the fact that we do not know the
quality of our own country's products. We don't know whether the
incubator will burn the baby, do we?" he said.

A total of 1,100 hospitals also have to struggle to maintain
their quality and service given the country is still suffering
from an economic crisis.

The depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar in 1998
caused a surge in the cost of imported medicines and health
equipment by almost 300 percent.

"Once prices go up, they are unlikely to go down," association
chairman A.W. Boediarso lamented.

In a bid to cope with the problem, a Group Purchase Alliance
(GPA) between the association and the Australian Medical Solution
was set up earlier this year, aiming at purchasing good quality
but affordable drugs and medical devices.

"This way we can buy any medicine from any country and the
price will be transparent and far cheaper. No more cheating. For
instance, the price of antibiotics in a small health clinic will
be equal to the price in major hospitals," Boediarso said.

Australia has developed a specific industry for medical
supplies for over 70 years, he said.

"The spirometer, a device used to measure the capacity of
lungs, can be bought at around A$10,000 to $12,000, cheaper than
the price here," Boediarso added.

Persi also signed on Monday an agreement with Catcha.com to
become its prime health website at www.pdpersi.co.id.

Dubbed the most complete health website in Indonesia, it
contains a directory of more than 300 hospitals in eight
provinces of West, Central and East Java, Bali, Aceh, West
Kalimantan, North Sumatra and South Sumatra.

"We hope to complete it soon for all 27 provinces.

"A hospital price list, the names of the doctors and their
specializations, consultation features, scientific and medical
news, medical technology and suppliers along with education info
can all be accessed here. So people can have options," he said.

The association will hold its 8th Congress jointly with the
13th Hospital Technology Expo at the Jakarta Convention Center
from Nov. 5 until Nov. 9, with the topic being the Improvement of
Health Services Towards the Asian Free Trade Agreement (AFTA)
2003.

"We will discuss the management of hospitals, policies on the
price of drugs and medical devices, and the possibility of
foreign medical experts thronging this country," he said. (edt)