Asiki Clinic, modern health facility in the remote area of Boven Digoel, Papua
JAKARTA – The pandemic has changed the system in many sectors, including health sector. The existence of the coronavirus (Covid-19) which is spreading rapidly has made many people reluctant to visit health facilities.
They are worried that hospitals and clinics they visit would cause them to contract coronavirus (Covid-19). On the other hand, there are still many people who are in need of health services.
This condition was experienced by Asiki Clinic, a modern health facility located in the remote area of Boven Digoel, Papua. Since the coronavirus first appeared in Indonesia in March 2020, the clinic, which is managed by Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE) Group, experienced a significant decrease in patients.
For information, Asiki Clinic is the first modern premier clinic that is supported by sophisticated equipments. This clinic provides free healthcare facilities for Papuan Indigenous People (OAP).
The Manager of Asiki Clinic, Dr. Firman Jayawijaya said that usually there were 100 to 200 people coming into the clinic every day. Since the pandemic, the number has dwindled to about 50 people. “That means there is a 50 percent decrease,” he said.
According to Firman, the clinic even had a period where it only served a few patients for some time. This became a concern for the management considering that the community are still facing many health problems which must be treated immediately.
Asiki Clinic did not just sit around and tried to adapt. Despite being located in the remote area, the clinic, which was inaugurated in September 2017, is aggressively utilizing technology development to reach people who are in need of health services.
Firman sais that one of the programs is to collaborate with Mobile JKN, a mobile application owned by BPJS Kesehatan that can be accessed through cellphones. Through this application, the community around the company can have a health consulation with doctors at the Asiki Clinic.
When the doctor has diagnosed the disease clearly, they will prescribe a medicine. Lastly, an officer will deliver it to the patient’s home. “So we reduce contact with many people, we protect them and ourselves,” Firman said.
Consultation can also be done via WhatsApp with the same process, with the medicine being delivered by an officer. However, there are times when it is difficult for a doctor to determine a diagnosis by an interview alone. When faced with this problem, a medical worker from Asiki Clinic will visit the residents’ homes by maintaining health protocols in a disciplined manner.
Firman said that these various efforts were made so that Asiki Clinic could still provide health services in the best way. “On the other hand, they can still use the existing facilities,” he said.
This adjustment was not done straight away. Firman explained that Asiki Clinic only started to use the online platform in May 2020 because they had to conduct a study and experiment first. The goal is to ensure that the health services could continue to run optimally even with a new process.
Over time, the use of the online platform has now decreased, because many people have become confident to be treated right at Asiki Clinic, although it hasn’t returned to how well it was before the pandemic. “They have taken trust and returned to the clinic,” Firman said.
Source : sindonews.com
