Jakarta. The national health insurance scheme BPJS Kesehatan has teamed up with health tech startup Halodoc to provide digital-based health services through the BPJS mobile app.

Both parties signed the memorandum of understanding for the agreement on Thursday, witnessed by Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara.

"Both these companies offer solutions for a range of health issues in Indonesia, not just treatment, but also other services for 221 million BPJS users," Rudiantara said in Jakarta.

He expects the collaboration could help brush aside the deficit issue that BPJS Kesehatan is currently experiencing, by making it more open to other business collaborations.

"We need to find a new business model to find a way to utilize technology. I appreciate what BPJS Kesehatan and Halodoc are doing, we must keep innovating to accelerate changes, or it will be hard to create a better health service in Indonesia," he said.

Dr. Wahyuddin Bagenda, the director of information and technology at BPJS Kesehatan, said the cooperation was initiated three years ago.

"The goal is for BPJS Kesehatan and Halodoc to create improved promotive-preventive actions," Wahyuddin said.

The cooperation, which integrates BPJS Kesehatan's mobile app JKN (National Health Insurance) Mobile with the Halodoc app, will include features such as doctor consultation and a health information database. 

"We have not started the integration. This MoU will mark the start of our cooperation," he said.

Halodoc chief executive Jonathan Sudharta said the cooperation will also increase Halodoc's coverage to remote regions BPJS has already covered.

"Over 50 percent of Halodoc users are outside Java, we have over 7 million users throughout Indonesia, and BPJS has 221 million. This cooperation will help people in remote areas get the best health service available," Jonathan said.

However, Jonathan said the biggest challenge is that not everyone in Indonesia has access to the internet.

"Tech infrastructure should not be a problem in Indonesia, people need to have access to technology for a better quality of life," Jonathan said.

BPJS Kesehatan is open to collaboration and cooperation with other companies, especially those who run health technology businesses.

"We have collaborated with Gopay, OVO, Tokopedia, Bukalapak and many more as our payment provider. What we want is to provide a wider service coverage and better quality health services for everyone," Wahyuddin said.

The Halodoc platform has over 7 million active users, 2,000 doctors and health practitioners, and partnerships with at least 1,300 pharmacies throughout Indonesia.