Hospital transformation and the future of EMR in Indonesia

Digital transformation in Indonesia's healthcare sector continues to show significant progress, particularly in the adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR).

EMR systems play a crucial role in improving service efficiency, healthcare data quality, and integration among healthcare facilities.

However, despite these encouraging developments, there are still significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that EMR can truly achieve comprehensive national healthcare service transformation.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, EMR adoption in Indonesia was relatively slow. Many hospitals still rely on manual record-keeping or non-integrated information systems.

The absence of strong regulations, limited digital infrastructure, and overall lack of clinical urgency meant that EMR implementation was not a priority. 

However, the pandemic marked a pivotal turning point. The need for case reporting, contact tracing, and real-time patient data integration drove a massive acceleration of digital transformation.  

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High achievements, but not yet complete  

To date, data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Health indicates that 96 per cent of hospitals in Indonesia have implemented EMR.  

Furthermore, approximately 92 per cent of all hospitals are connected to SATUSEHAT as a national platform, which serves as the foundation for national health data integration.  

While these figures reflect significant progress in terms of connectivity, the quality of EMR implementation in many hospitals remains suboptimal. Only a small proportion of hospitals regularly and comprehensively submit patient health data to the national platform.  

Many EMR systems only cover basic functions and have not yet addressed advanced features such as full interoperability, structured data recording, or the integration of clinical data from various departments. 

EMR standardisation 

One of the root causes of the suboptimal implementation of EMR is the lack of widely adopted national standards to measure the maturity of implementation.  

Globally, models such as the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) are used to assess the extent to which a hospital has fully implemented and utilised EMR systems.  

In Indonesia, the Ministry of Health has also promoted the use of the Digital Maturity Index (DMI) as an evaluation tool for the digital readiness of healthcare facilities.  

However, its adoption and implementation remain uneven. 

With standard frameworks such as EMRAM and DMI, hospitals can be more focused on designing their digitalisation roadmap. This phased evaluation will also assist the Ministry of Health in providing appropriate guidance and technical support.

The need for incentives and tangible benefits  

In addition to regulations and standards, the success of EMR adoption also depends heavily on the incentives and tangible benefits that hospitals can receive.  

Many hospitals still view EMR as an additional cost burden rather than a strategic investment. 

The implementation of EMR can become much more appealing if directly linked to financial benefits such as faster and more transparent claims processes. 

When the EMR system is directly integrated into the National Health Insurance (JKN) claim mechanism, hospitals will be encouraged to ensure the completeness and accuracy of medical data. This will simultaneously enhance the reliability of national data and the effectiveness of health financing programmes.  

Leveraging AI to streamline EMR 

The adoption of EMR must also consider the workload of healthcare workers.  

Many doctors and nurses feel burdened by time-consuming electronic data entry processes that disrupt patient interactions. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) technology can play a crucial role. 

AI technologies such as speech-to-text models allow doctors to record medical notes in real-time and automatically transcribe them into structured text formats.  

AI-based clinical decision support systems can also help provide treatment recommendations, reminders about drug interactions, or automatically flag abnormalities in laboratory results. 

Thus, AI not only supports efficiency but also the quality and safety of medical services.  

By strengthening standards, providing tangible incentives, and leveraging AI technology, Indonesia has a significant opportunity to build a robust, integrated, and patient-centred healthcare information system. 

The future of electronic health records is not just about digitisation, but also about achieving more equitable, efficient, and high-quality healthcare services. 

Dr Agus Mutamakin is a professional in hospital digital transformation and health information systems. He has experience integrating EMR with the national platform, SATUSEHAT, and initiating AI technology in healthcare services. He is currently actively leading a digitisation project at Bali International Hospital and is involved in various strategic initiatives to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare services in Indonesia.