Jakarta, April 2023 – Digitalization in healthcare has made it easier for the public to access quality health services under any condition. On one hand, People Living with HIV (PLHIV) need lifelong antiretroviral (ARV) medication. On the other hand, PLHIV are concerned about contracting COVID-19 if they frequently visit hospitals. However, stopping ARV medication can lead to uncontrolled disease, weaken the immune system, transmit to others, and even progress to AIDS. Additionally, as reported by gooddoctor.co.id, people who do not effectively use HIV treatment, such as not undergoing antiretroviral therapy, are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Conversely, HIV clients who regularly undergo antiretroviral treatment do not have a higher potential to contract COVID-19. Their risk of contracting COVID-19 is the same as that of healthy people.
To ensure PLHIV continue their treatment during the pandemic and reduce visits to health facilities, the Jak-Anter program was launched in April 2020 by USAID EpiC Indonesia in collaboration with the Jakarta Health Department. Jak-Anter is a service that delivers ARV drugs to PLHIV who cannot visit health facilities. The partnership of the Jakarta Health Department, EpiC Indonesia, and Good Doctor will strengthen this program, making it more widely known and utilized by HIV-AIDS clients in Jakarta. This partnership is also one way to support the Government’s program in eliminating HIV-AIDS “95-95-95” by 2030, meaning 95% of PLHIV know their HIV status, 95% of those who know their status receive ARV, and 95% of those receiving ARV experience virus suppression, thus reducing the likelihood of transmitting the virus to others.
As the first telemedicine to collaborate with EpiC Indonesia and the Jakarta Health Department to facilitate digital-based healthcare services, PT Good Doctor Technology Indonesia (Good Doctor) and USAID EpiC Indonesia have signed a cooperation agreement on providing additional lines in healthcare services for HIV/AIDS clients (PLHIV) through the use of the Good Doctor app and GrabHealth powered by Good Doctor.
In the opening, the Acting Head of the Jakarta Health Department, drg. Ani Ruspitawati, M.M., stated, “Thank you to our partners and our team in the P2P and Datin fields who have worked hard these past few months to ensure this ARV delivery service can be developed collaboratively to meet the needs of the HIV clients we serve in Jakarta. Initially, Jak-Anter was a service that was a response during the pandemic so that HIV clients could continue their treatment; all processes had to be done manually. Currently, we continue the delivery practice implemented during the pandemic for clients who need and qualify. We are very grateful that the ordering process can now be accommodated with a digital platform and will soon start in 12 services. Hopefully, in the future, more HIV services can be provided digitally with confidentiality maintained, so that treatment and prevention efforts can be carried out optimally.”
“USAID is proud that the US support for the ARV home delivery program during the pandemic has been successful and well received. The partnership between USAID EpiC Indonesia and Good Doctor activated today will expand and advance best practices for quality HIV services where users can conveniently get life-saving treatment at home. We hope this collaboration will be successful, and we can extend the coverage of these best services,” said Enilda Martin, Director of the USAID Indonesia Health Office.
At the same event, the Project Director of USAID EpiC Indonesia, Erlian Aditya, said, “The collaboration with Good Doctor is an innovation to strengthen the HIV program, especially at the Puskesmas level in Jakarta. Strengthening this program is a combination of existing ARV drug delivery services, namely Jak-Anter, with teleconsultation services, both of which can be accessed by HIV/AIDS clients through the Good Doctor app. This convenience and comfort are efforts so that clients do not stop treatment for any reason. Their security and data confidentiality are also guaranteed.”
At the signing ceremony, the Head of Medical at PT Good Doctor Technology Indonesia, Dr. Adhiatma Gunawan, said, “We appreciate the trust given by USAID EpiC Indonesia to us to strengthen the HIV program for the community in Jakarta. We believe that telemedicine can improve the availability and quality of services for the prevention and treatment of HIV so that all clients are served quickly, safely, and comfortably. This collaboration also shows that as a business, we have carried out our responsibility to help end AIDS in Indonesia. Without equality in providing quality HIV/AIDS treatment services for everyone, the target to end AIDS by 2030 will be difficult to achieve.”
With this collaboration agreement, HIV/AIDS clients in Jakarta can do teleconsultation and receive medication at their homes through the Good Doctor app or GrabHealth powered by Good Doctor. Teleconsultation is a new service provided to HIV/AIDS clients because before this collaboration agreement, clients could not directly teleconsult with doctors.
This collaboration will involve 11 puskesmas and 1 private clinic appointed by the Jakarta Health Department. The doctors appointed by the Jakarta Health Department will be verified first by Good Doctor before attending training held by Good Doctor to improve the doctors’ ability to conduct teleconsultations. Thus, the quality of teleconsultation services provided follows the highest medical standards always upheld by Good Doctor since its operation.
Clients who are registered at one of the puskesmas or private clinics in this collaboration, if they want to do teleconsultation, can choose the paid or unpaid route. This choice does not affect the quality of service provided. All clients will receive the same quality health services, only differing in terms of time flexibility. After teleconsultation, the doctor will prescribe ARV drugs according to the client’s needs, and the medicine will be delivered directly to the client’s home. If the client needs further examination, the doctor will refer the client to an offline health facility.
Apart from this collaboration, Good Doctor has donated 50,000 surgical masks to EpiC Indonesia because Good Doctor realizes that HIV/AIDS clients are a vulnerable group that needs to be protected from COVID-19 and various other diseases. The distribution of masks will be carried out by the Jakarta Health Department to HIV/AIDS clients registered at the puskesmas and clinics involved in this program.
Media Contact:
Aulia Human | ahuman@fhi360.org | 0821-6565-4465
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Revi Renita | revi.renita@gooddoctor.co.id | 0815-8083748
Prasanti Dhewi | prasanti.dhewi@gooddoctor.co.id | 0822-99712737