US$300m spent on medical services abroad: Official

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Due to less qualified medical services at home, Indonesians spend US$300 million on overseas medical services each year, an official says.

Ministry of Health medical services director Hardiman said nothing could be done to reduce the expenditure but to improve the medical services of hospitals in the country.

It was not clear how he came up with the figure.

He made the statement during his visit to a public hospital, RSUD, in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Saturday during a ceremony to mark the upgrade of its status to a Type B hospital from a Type C.

Hardiman suggested that all hospitals in the country provide better medical services with cheaper prices, faster service, and modern facilities.

Besides, all patients must be given the opportunity to choose their own doctors to avoid long queues and that hospital management must understand the needs of their customers.

"Indeed, hospital administrations must also think about how to work out parking problems. Long queues of cars must be avoided," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Meanwhile, Sleman deputy regent Zaelani said the development and the advancement of the public hospital in the regency was a response to the challenge from the regional administration as well as the local people.

He said local people had been demanding modern medical facilities and services at affordable prices. The upgrade of the hospital's status was expected to have fulfilled the demand of the people, he said.

Hospital director Endang Puji Astuti, meanwhile, said it had been a Type C hospital since 1998. It now employs 288 staff.

The number of patients who get medical services at the hospital was 90,000 people per year.

The presence of many modern, well-managed, and air-conditioned private hospitals is another challenge for the state-owned hospitals.