The Information System/Information Technology (IS/IT) practices in the Indonesia health referral system

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how Information System/Information Technology (IS/IT) is used to support the health referral system in Indonesia. Method: This study uses a qualitative approach, with case studies at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (MOH) as the sector regulator, the Social Security Agency for Health (BPJS-K) as the Indonesian government body in organizing a health insurance program for all Indonesian citizens, and hospitals as the health providers in the DKI Jakarta Province. The 33 respondents involved in this study are policy makers, medical personnel who use the health referral information system, such as doctors, nurses and administrative staff, and application developers who develop and deploy the applications for health referral. Results: The study reveals that most of the health facilities and providers in the DKI Jakarta Province have used health referral information systems, even if the system is not fully integrated or does not have a complete set of features. All of the relevant stakeholders should be able to manage the technical and non-technical problems in the health referral information system. Strong integration and well-structured planning in IS/IT application could reduce the queuing processes in health facilities. Conclusions: Based on this study, MOH as the health regulator should draft regulation(s) that defines the health data dictionary as a reference for interface between health referral applications developed by each health facility or regional government. In addition, the chairperson of health facilities providers should have a strong leadership commitment and good coordination with other health facilities in performing the usage of health referral information systems.