October 8, 2025
JAKARTA – Only a few years ago, artificial intelligence seemed something out of a sci-fi novel. Today, it composes messages, designs travel plans and even makes short films. Now it is entering one of the most high-stakes fields of all: health care.
At hospitals and clinics across the country, AI is already easing administrative workloads, managing records, supporting diagnoses and even assisting in surgeries. What was once met with skepticism is becoming a daily part of professional medicine.
Indonesians are more optimistic about AI than most. According to the Future Health Index 2025 by Philips, 74 percent of patients and 84 percent of health professionals in the country believe AI can improve health care, significantly higher than the global averages of 59 percent and 79 percent, respectively.
The survey, which is currently available for 16 countries, involved more than 16,000 patients and around 2,000 professionals across the globe, with Indonesia the sole ASEAN member.
“These numbers should serve as momentum for both hospitals and patients to achieve better healthcare services with AI,” said Astri Ramayanti Dharmawan, president director of Philips Indonesia.
System under pressure
That optimism is grounded in real needs. The national health system struggles with the country’s huge population, vast geography and shortage of specialists.
“Indonesia faces many challenges compared to other countries,” said Setiaji, head of digital transformation at the Health Ministry.
“First is our extraordinarily large population, then the vastness of our territory and also the shortage of specialists, which often forces patients to wait for medical services.”
The country has only 49,000 specialist doctors, or just 63 percent of the 78,000 needed to serve its 280 million population. With just 2,700 new specialists graduating annually, closing the gap could take more than a decade.
“That’s why the health minister has directed us to focus on AI adoption this year,” Setiaji added.
To prepare, the ministry has set up the AI working group, or Pojka AI, to develop policies and guidelines. A key instrument is a regulatory sandbox: a controlled environment where AI solutions are tested for both benefits and risks.
“Our main concern is data security,” Setiaji said. “The servers must be located in Indonesia, and all systems must comply with national standards.”
AI solutions must also align with the World Health Organization’s principles: protect patient autonomy, ensure safety and accountability, maintain transparency and fairness and ultimately serve the public good in a sustainable way.
The government has also transformed PeduliLindungi, the health tracking tool first launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, into Satusehat, a national platform of integrated medical records. Using this unified data, AI can now detect patterns and deliver insights that were previously out of reach.
Hospitals take point
While regulations take shape, hospitals are already testing AI on the ground.
At the National Cardiovascular Center (NCVC) Harapan Kita, AI supports a patient’s entire health journey, from diagnosis to treatment and monitoring.
“We use AI not only at the back end but also directly in patient care,” said Iwan Dakota, president director of NCVC Harapan Kita.
AI enhances imaging tools such as cardiac MRIs, coronary CT scans, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology studies, allowing doctors to detect heart problems faster, and with greater accuracy.
“Twenty years ago, an echocardiography exam could take nearly an hour,” Iwan recalled. “Now with AI, it takes just 10 minutes. The system not only accelerates the process but also provides precise measurements.”
But he noted that trust was still an issue.
“Well-educated patients often ask how certain the diagnosis is and whether it can truly be trusted. We make it a point to explain the results and [our] degree of confidence in them in detail.”
NCVC Harapan Kita also holds regular patient briefings, conducts weekly doctor training sessions and publishes details of its AI use online to build transparency.
AI is transforming monitoring, too. Wearable chest sensors now record heart rhythms for weeks, even during travel abroad, such as for the haj.
“In the past, it could take 24 to 48 hours to analyze a single day’s ECG recording,” Iwan said. “Now with AI, the results can be generated in just minutes.”
Next comes therapy. At the NCVC’s Cath Lab, AI-powered quantitative coronary analysis (QCA) software gives precise artery measurements, while robotic systems are being introduced for complex bypass and valve surgeries.
Also embracing the shift are private hospitals like Mandaya Hospital Group, which has started integrating AI across its services.
“From the beginning, we understood that what we offer patients is not only health care but also the overall healthcare experience. And to deliver the best experience, two things matter most: accuracy and time,” said Mandaya president director Benedictus Widaja.
For example, scanners installed at Mandaya hospitals use deep learning to sharpen medical images.
“It’s like when you take a photo with your phone and the result is slightly blurry, AI can make it clearer. In medicine, this means scans that are already good can become even more accurate,” said Benedictus.
AI also powers an early warning system that tracks vital signs and alerts staff to deterioration via smartphone, enabling faster interventions.
Beyond clinical use, AI supports doctor-patient interaction. It collects and filters daily feedback, flagging those that need follow-up by a health worker.
“It’s a hybrid system,” Benedictus said. “AI does the initial screening, but our nurses always step in whenever human judgment is needed.”
Mandaya also keeps its AI systems in a secure, private cloud to protect patient data, while it is building a special team of health professionals with IT expertise to bridge technical and frontline staff.
Digital ‘consultation’
Beyond hospitals, Indonesians are turning to tools like ChatGPT to look up their symptoms. The government views this as a positive sign.
“This is, from the Health Ministry’s perspective, a form of progress […] for the public to become more aware of their health,” said the ministry’s digital transformation head Setiaji.
He expressed a hope that people would use ChatGPT not only when they were ill but also to learn about prevention, though he warned against overreliance on the technology.
“It is fine to consult ChatGPT to gain awareness, but we cannot trust it 100 percent. Ultimately, we must still see a doctor to be certain,” he said.
“This is in line with the WHO’s guidelines, which mandate that all AI applications must ensure humans stay in charge.”