The skills of Indonesian doctors to utilize high-tech medical devices are still inferior as compared to their peers in developed nations, according to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).
“We see here that there is a gap between Indonesia and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) countries,” IDI Chairman for the 2015-2018 period Ilham Oetama Marsis stated during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on the Medical Education Bill here on Monday.
According to Marsis, as compared to Singaporean doctors’ capabilities, Indonesia’s doctors still lag behind in terms of robotic technology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and so on.
He explained that some top universities in Indonesia, such as the University of Indonesia (UI) and Gadjah Mada University (UGM), still ranked 254th and 290th respectively out of the 1,300 varsities in the Southeast Asian region.
“(This does not include) the rating given by the AEC Forum that puts the Indonesian medical service system in a very backward spot. The AEC ranked UI at the 1,618th position and UGM, at the 1,955th ranking,” he pointed out.
There has been a change in the concept of medical education in several western countries, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, from traditional to virtual clerkship, Marsis noted.
“Western countries have made educational conversions by prioritizing high technology, but this requires telehealth and telemedicine. Until now, Indonesia has only been able to implement telemedicine surgery with two-way communication skills,” he explained.
Marsis cited as an example that in Indonesia, medical robotics for surgical purposes had only been used in Bunda Hospital with limited technology 2.5.
“While the United States, Japan, and European countries are already using technology 5.0,” he pointed out.
By adopting technology 5.0, surgical robots can be controlled from a distance of 1,250 km from the operator’s location, Marsis highlighted.
At the meeting, Marsis expressed optimism that the Medical Education Bill would accommodate the need for a legal basis for the fulfillment of medical competencies in advanced technology.
Source: Antara News