Gov’t Announces Procedures for Telemedicine Service for COVID-19 Self-Isolation Patients

INDUSTRY.co.id - Ministry of Health in cooperation with 11 healthcare platforms provides telemedicine service for COVID-19 patients in self-isolation.

The service aims at providing patients with online medical consultation and remote monitoring so they can receive the best treatment for COVID-19 free of charge based on their symptoms. During the initial stage, these services are offered for people living in Jakarta.

“We provide telemedicine service because seeing a doctor at hospital for medical consultation may increase a risk of getting infected (with COVID-19). Therefore, we have cooperated with 11 telemedicine platforms that can provide free consultation service and prescription drugs that will be sent directly to their homes,” Minister of Health Budi G. Sadikin said on Friday (9/7).

According to the Minister, the platforms provide free medical consultation with a doctor every day during incubation period of 14 days. They will also write out prescription to the patients, be linked to laboratories to monitor the patients’ status, and cooperate with pharmacies to deliver medicines to the patients.

The services and procedures provided by telemedicine are as follows:

1. PCR/swab antigen test

Patients must take PCR/swab antigen test at a laboratory affiliated with the Ministry of Health. If the test shows a positive result, the laboratory will submit the result to the Ministry’s database of COVID-10 cases. Afterwards, the patients will receive an automatic WhatsApp message from the Ministry.

Note: All positive results must be submitted by the laboratory to the Ministry. COVID-19 positive case means any positive results of PCR test taken within a maximum period of seven days or any positive results of swab antigen test taken within a maximum period of two days.

2. Online consultation
   1. Patients can have online consultation with a doctor from one of 11 platforms providing telemedicine services free of charge by clicking on the link stated in the WhatsApp message from the Ministry of Health and input a voucher code on the application they have chosen.
   2. Patients inform the doctor that they are patients of the program of the Ministry of Health.

For the time being, this program is only applied in Jakarta.

3. Online drugs prescription

After online consultation, doctor will give drugs prescription in a digital form based on symptoms of each patient. If the patient must do self-isolation, the drugs will be given free of charge.

4. Filling a prescription
5. To fill drugs prescription free of charge, patients must send WhatsApp message to a Kimia Farma pharmacy that has cooperated with Ministry of Health.
6. Patients must send the digital prescription (in PDF or screen capture) written out by a telemedicine platform, ID card, and address for delivery to contact number of their preferred Kimia Farma pharmacy through a WhatsApp message.
7. Costs of medicines and/or vitamins will be borne by the Minister of Health based on prevailing provisions.
8. Drugs delivery

Ministry of Health is cooperating with SiCepat, a shipping company, to deliver medicines and/or vitamins from the pharmacy to the patient’s address.

Those eligible for medicines and/or vitamins are patients registered in the database of the Ministry of Health and recorded as active cases.

Medicines and vitamins that will be provided by the Ministry are as follows:

1. Package A (for asymptomatic patients) consists of multivitamins (Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Zinc),one dose per day x 10.
2. Package A (for patients with mild symptoms) consists of:
3. Multivitamins (Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Zinc), one dose per day x 10;
4. Azitromisin 500mg, one dose per day x 5;
5. Oseltamivir 75mg, two doses per day x 7; and
6. Parasetamol tab 500mg, take only when necessary, 10 tablets.

Here are lists of contact support through WhatsApp of Kimia Farma pharmacies that have cooperated with Ministry of Health:

1. East Jakarta: me/628112223049;
2. North Jakarta: me/628112221832;
3. Central Jakarta: me/6287877241590;
4. South Jakarta: me/62895324874355; and
5. West Jakarta: me/6287877241405.

These are the 11 healthcare platforms providing telemedicine service for COVID-19 patients:

1. Alodokter;
   2. GetWell;
   3. Good Doctor and GrabHealth;
   4. Halodoc;
   5. KlikDokter;
   6. KlinikGo;
   7. Link Sehat;
   8. Milvik Dokter;
   9. ProSehat;
   10. SehatQ; and
   11. YesDok.

The platforms can also be used through PeduliLindungi App for travel requirements so the public do not have to bring hardcopy of their documents required for travel.

Also on that occasion, Budi expressed his appreciation to all parties for their contribution in the service. He added that it is not the Government’s program but a movement where all layers of society are eager to participate.