Indonesia working on legal provisions for telemedicine

The Indonesian government is planning to patch loopholes in present regulations guiding the implementation of telemedicine in the country.

Recently, Abetnego Tarigan, an official from the Presidential Staff Office, noted the need for more legal protection for telemedicine users as adoption has expanded during the ongoing pandemic. 

The Health Minister's Regulation No. 20 and Decree No. 01.07 are some of the regulations that supports the implementation of telemedicine in Indonesia. Tarigan noted that there are loopholes in these policies that must be addressed, including provisions on private data protection, the confidentiality of medical records that are shared between health facilities, and legal protection.

A news report quoted him as saying: "Health services through telemedicine are basically internet-based, (so it must) have good regulations. Hence, it must be assisted by the availability of adequate basic infrastructure".

The government official also said they are prepared to handle ethics violation, malpractice, fraud, moral hazard, and other cases surrounding the use of telemedicine. 

Indonesia has expanded access to its free telemedicine service in areas outside its capital Jakarta where COVID-19-positive cases are rising due to the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Thailand's digital health pass accepted in 60 countries

Thailand's digital health pass has been recognised by 60 countries, including 27 European Union nations.

This comes as the Thailand Digital Health Pass on the vaccination services app Mor Prom has been certified as an equivalent of the European Union Digital COVID-19 Clearance Certificate since December.

The recognition means Thai people bearing the local digital health pass can now enter certain countries that acknowledges its vaccine passport.

Thailand is currently issuing free digital vaccine passports to all vaccination persons in the country until the end of March. Since its launch in October, the government has been charging 50 baht for either printed or digital versions of the health pass.

Neurosurgeon to lead Solve.Care's South Korea office

Healthcare blockchain technology firm Solve.Care has appointed Dr Uhn Lee as president of its headquarters in South Korea.

Dr Lee has been a neurosurgeon for over 35 years. He is currently practising at the Gil Medical Center of Gachon University, where he is also serving as director of its AI Healthcare Platform Research Lab. 

Among his responsibilities, Dr Lee will mainly lead the creation and launch of Solve.Care's networks across Asia and oversee partnerships with government agencies and healthcare entities. 

He will also take charge in increasing the availability of the SOLVE token, a form of digital payment, across Asia-Pacific as the company expands its health network ecosystem and as more people adopt its token. 

"The Asian market, especially Korea, is an important one for Solve.Care. Koreans have shown that they are early adopters of technology and always pushing the boundaries of how technology can better serve us. I have the utmost confidence that Dr Lee is the right person to ensure the proliferation and adoption of care networks on the Solve.Care platform in Korea, as well as the APAC region," Solve.Care CEO Pradeep Goel said about Dr Lee's appointment.

"I look forward to introducing and educating the people of Korea, as well as Asia, on the benefits the Solve.Care platform can bring to their healthcare needs," Dr Lee commented.

Government telemedicine service comes to Jammu and Kashmir in India

The Indian government has started providing free telemedicine service to citizens of the Kathua district in the Jammu and Kashmir region, located north of India. 

The service is being offered through the Doctor on Wheels programme by government-owned power company NHPC Limited and non-profit organisation Sahara Health and Development Society. 

The telemedicine service can now connect patients from remote areas of Kathua with doctors in urban centres, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Surat, and Ahmedabad.