Doctors should adapt to keep pace with health transformation: Jokowi

Banda Aceh (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on doctors in Indonesia to become adaptive to the latest technological developments in order to have high competitiveness for keeping up with health transformation. “The implementation of health transformation cannot be delayed,” the President noted virtually at the opening of the 31st Congress of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) and the 22nd Congress of Indonesian Doctor’s Wives Association (IIDI) held here on Wednesday.
Jokowi remarked that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had protracted for the past two years, the health system was improved to become more resilient in facing various conditions, as the pandemic had caused technological disruption that also affected Indonesian medicine and pharmacy sectors.
Hence, the president has pressed to expedite transformation of the healthcare system to realize excellent and equitable medical services, especially for the community in the frontier, remote, and disadvantaged (3T) regions.
“Furthermore, the transformation of medical education system must also be accelerated to produce superior doctors with mastery in modern medical technology and are able to compete with doctors from all over the world,” he remarked.
In addition to inaugurating the congresses, he officiated the Indonesian Doctors Service Monument that is dedicated to Indonesian doctors who succumbed to the disease while handling the COVID-19 pandemic. “During the pandemic, we have lost a lot of doctors and medical workers. They were very loyal and dedicated in fulfilling their humanitarian tasks,” Jokowi stated.
Hence, the president affirmed that establishment of the monument aims to honor and reminisce about the doctors, who died in dealing with COVID-19.
The monument is expected to always encourage Indonesian doctors to become health service vanguards.
“All praises be to God, with the help of Indonesian doctors, we have successfully mitigated the pandemic. The government will continue to expedite vaccination and keep encouraging the public to be disciplined in implementing health protocols,” the president added.