Community health centres, or puskesmas, in the Indonesian province of West Java, south of the capital Jakarta, will employ generative AI to boost their ability to address grave health issues.
Sumedang County Government recently partnered with Singapore’s Doctors Networking Platform Documentation develop and launch a virtual assistant based on genAI technology called TehAI.
HOW IT WORKS
TehAI reportedly has an intuitive and easy-to-use chat interface that healthcare workers can employ to access genAI-based information. It pulls information from a wide knowledge base, including scientific journals, the World Health Organization repository, the Indonesian Ministry of Health database, and data sources from the Sumedang government.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
According to a press release, the employ of the genAI platform will initially focus on improving the knowledge of puskesmas workers in diagnosing and treating tuberculosis, stunting and hypertension, which are among the most commonly identified health problems in Sumedang Regency. (.)
Indonesia has seen a rise in tuberculosis cases in recent years, with an estimated 800,000 cases in 2020 and more than a million in 2023. Deaths were around 130,000 – the second highest in the world that year, after India.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is working towards achieving a target of reducing stunting to 14% this year from 21% in 2022, higher than the Asian average.
Hypertension, a grave health hazard in the country, affects one in three people. The number of deaths due to it has already exceeded 400,000.
BIGGER TREND
West Java Province plans to expand TehAI implementation to other regions after the pilot implementation in Sumedang.
“The success of this initiative will pave the way for its replication in other regencies in West Java, leading to improved healthcare outcomes across the province,” said provincial secretary general Dr. Herman Suryatman.
The implementation of novel technologies such as genAI in Indonesian puskesmas contributes to greater efforts to digitalize rural health. This includes the introduction of electronic medical records (EMR) was ordered and the implementation of satellite Internet communications was proposed.
Sumedang’s genAI platform project also marks Docquity’s first public sector partnership. In addition to this project, Docquity is also working with the regency on a program to ensure patients adhere to medication schedules, visits and recommended lifestyle activities.