East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa launched six strategic and innovative programs of Dr Soetomo Regional General Hospital (RSUD) at its Integrated Cardiac Service Center (PPJT) in Surabaya on Wednesday.
"The launch of Dr Soetomo RSUD's quality service (programs) today is an effort to build top-of-mind (awareness) among the community that treatment with good and advanced services exists in East Java," she said.
The innovations include Soetomo Vendor Management System (Soetomo Vemes), Independent Information Technology, Soetomo Revenue Center, and Bangun Guna Serah (build, operate, and transfer) for hostels.
In addition, the governor signed the building inscriptions of the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (Neu ICU) and Soetomo Training Center, which has been set up to develop clinical and management skills.
Through Dr Soetomo Hospital, East Java is aiming to attract patients who are still seeking medical treatment abroad and prompt them to seek treatment within the country.
Based on data, Indonesians spend at least Rp164 trillion (around US$10.5 billion) on medical treatment overseas every year, Parawansa said.
"I asked the head of the East Java Health Office to calculate how many East Java residents seek treatment abroad. That should be the target of Dr Soetomo Hospital after the Revenue Center is launched," she added.
According to Parawansa, Dr Soetomo RSUD offers great and competitive services that must be made known to the public.
"This is the importance of building people's top-of-mind (awareness) so that they believe and get the best service," she said.
Furthermore, she explained that Indonesia is the largest contributor to the world's medical tourism sector.
She highlighted that the number of patients seeking treatment abroad in 2015 reached 600 thousand, almost double compared to 2006.
"The main destinations in Southeast Asia (for medical tourism) are Malaysia and Singapore. However, we know that Dr Soetomo has many services of international standards, such as neurology and cardiology," she said.
Editor : Abdullah Rifai
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