Indonesian Government to Collaborate with Telemedicine Platforms to Treat Patients in Isolation

JAKARTADAILY.ID – The Indonesian government will be collaborating with 17 telemedicine platforms to treat patients exposed to the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, according to a statement made by the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The joint effort with the telemedicine platforms is taken because Omicron patients will be directed to be treated and self-isolated at home, not in a hospital, with the supply of medicine and vitamins provided by the telemedicine platform.

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Budi emphasized that the majority of confirmed Omicron patients had mild and asymptomatic symptoms. Therefore, Omicron confirmed patients do not require serious hospitalization. Patients only need to undergo self-isolation at home by being given vitamin supplements or additional therapeutic drugs that have been permitted to use by the government.

“Omicron transmission gains will be much higher than delta, but less treated. So the service strategy from the Ministry of Health from the previous one to the hospital now focuses on the home. Because there will be many who are infected but do not need to go to the hospital," said the Minister of Health.

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For this reason, the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is collaborating with 17 telemedicine platforms in providing doctor consultation services and free drug delivery services for COVID-19 patients who are self-isolating at home. This step will speed up the healing process. The platforms are Alodokter, Getwell, Good Doctor, Grabhealth, Halodoc, KlikDokter, KlinikGo, Link Sehat, Milvik Dokter, ProSehat, SehatQ, YesDok, Aido Health, Homecare24, Lekasehat, mDoc, Trustmedis, and Vascular.

Type of medicine

The Ministry of Health will also make adjustments by recommending changes to regulations for the management of COVID-19 patients, including including the use of the drugs monulpiravir and Plaxlovid for the treatment of mild COVID-19 patients.

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From the results of the study, Molnupiravir and Plaxlovid were able to reduce severe symptoms and even death in COVID-19 patients. The drug has been tested on COVID-19 patients and has been shown to be safe. Both have also obtained a permit for use from the United States Drug Administration (FDA) and are in the process of obtaining a EUA from the Indonesian Food and Drug Administration (BPOM). (*)