AeHIN openIMIS CoP in Asia (2025 Webinars and Events)
openIMIS Webinar - The Role of Digital Health for UHC Financing in Indonesia
The Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) held a webinar, “The Role of Digital Health for Universal Health Coverage Financing in Indonesia,” on April 10, 2025, featuring Prof. Dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, President Director of Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial Kesehatan (BPJS Kesehatan), Indonesia's Social Security Administrator, as the speaker. A total of 166 participants joined the session.
In the webinar, Prof. Mukti discussed the implementation of Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) in the country, particularly how they innovated to reduce long lines and waiting times for health services through digitalization and data interoperability efforts with the Ministry of Health and local government.
Prof. Mukti first discussed the health financing pillars and ecosystem of Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), Indonesia’s national health insurance program. As of March 2025, JKN membership already covers over 98% of the Indonesian population. The number of BPJS-contracted healthcare facilities has also increased significantly: from fewer than 1,400 hospitals in 2014, there are now 3,132 referral care facilities and 23,443 primary care facilities.
The BPJS Kesehatan’s JKN Program Business Model demonstrates the importance of digitalization. The BPJS focuses on revenue collection, risk pooling, and strategic purchasing, while the Ministry of Health (MOH) regulates their work with the support of its advanced IT system. As shown on the slide, all main activities, such as payment channels, premiums, benefit services, capitation-based and non-capitation payments, quality transformation, Indonesian and non-Indonesian Case Base Group (Ina and non-InaCBGs) medical advisory board (MAB), Quality and Cost Control Team (Q and CCT), and Anti Fraud System (AFS), are supported by an advanced IT system.
Indonesia now has a single scheme, which has increased population coverage. BPJS made down payments to hospitals, expedited claims, increased the satisfaction rate, and reduced out-of-pocket expenses.
In terms of digital transformation, Indonesia is trying to connect healthcare providers, various stakeholders, banks and finance, and BPJS members. Prof. Mukti highlighted Indonesia’s approaches: relate to Industrial Revolution 4.0-5.0, shift stakeholder mindsets, increase literacy rates, and innovate in various aspects.
To further illustrate the digital health innovation in the JKN program, Prof. Mukti presented the features of Mobile JKN, which integrates super apps into its system.
In Mobile JKN, people can easily register as new members, conveniently queue for healthcare services from anywhere, and provide ratings and feedback at any time. It also uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), enabling patients to visit the hospital, and then the hospital's reader can determine whether the patient is a member of BPJS or not. Mobile JKN has simplified the administration process, reduced costs for BPJS and its members, and shortened waiting time for patients. However, while the number of Mobile JKN users continues to increase, the digital health literacy rate still needs to be increased. Many people are still unaware of Mobile JKN and BPJS's digital transformation.
Prof. Mukti concluded his talk by saying, “Digital Health and AI have brought improvement in the JKN healthcare insurance system by service digitalization, updated information system, and data utilization. Further collaboration and integration are essential.”
After the presentation, Anis Fuad, a member of the AeHIN Governing Committee (GC), mentioned that the AeHIN-openIMIS Community of Practice in Indonesia is eager to learn from BPJS. He explained that they are in the process of adopting BPJS Kesehatan’s experiences into openIMIS, an open-source information system for universal health coverage developed by GIZ. Fuad added that they plan to consult with BPJS regarding adopting the BPJS IT system in the openIMIS system.
During the open forum, Prof. Mukti and Fuad discussed questions about identification cards and payment processes in the 950,000 payment channels, the governance structure for collaboration and coordination and who the lead convenor is, the progress of interoperability between Mobile JKN and SatuSehat, optimizing data security, and helping students keep up by sharing scientific and technological progress with universities.
When asked for advice on how countries can achieve interoperability in the MOH and health insurance agencies, Prof. Mukti answered, “We should not reinvent the wheel.” He explained that if someone has already found or developed a solution, there’s no need to repeat it. He also emphasized the need for parties to discuss and agree on the digital transformation system's goals, such as making it quick and easy to use, as well as to discuss who is accountable for data protection, how to protect data and how to improve cybersecurity, and have a unique ID that can be used and matched for interoperability.
Before wrapping up the session, Saurav Bhattarai, Team Lead at openIMIS, supported Fuad’s earlier announcement about working together. They look forward to leveraging BPJS's developments and bringing them into an open-source digital health public good, which they look forward to working on with AeHIN. Prof. Mukti proactively responded that openIMIS and AeHIN are welcome to verify and collaborate with BPJS.
Dr. Paul Rueckert, a former GIZ health expert who also worked with Bhattarai in developing openIMIS, expressed his delight that openIMIS is now used in several countries. He said that it is a pleasure for him that “all the seeds we could plant in the last decade are growing, and I see now huge trees, I even see forests out there, so I think it’s really worth investing in development aid.” He added, “It takes some time to see the result. It’s not maybe within the short lifespan of a project, but you see the major progress, but you see many things after five, 10, 20 years. I hope that this positive experience in Indonesia and maybe other countries can convince politicians to continue investing in development aid and foster collaboration also between the countries.” Dr. Ruckert ended his message with greetings to AeHIN and wished everyone the best, hoping they would continue to grow.
View the recording at https://youtu.be/NoxQvsNDCSU.
Webinar: openIMIS in Medical Education: Incorporating openIMIS in San Beda University's Doctor of Medicine Program
On June 11, 2025, Dr. Julius Migrino presented the process of integrating openIMIS into the curriculum of San Beda University College of Medicine's Doctor of Medicine program, particularly its three phases: curricular review and creation of localized scenarios, openIMIS introductory webinar and live demonstration, and openIMIS evaluation. A total of 40 attendees joined the webinar.
Webinar: Establishment of a Virtual Interoperability Lab at Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering
On June 18, 2025, AeHIN hosted a webinar featuring the virtual lab at Tribhuvan University, which was attended by 46 participants. In the webinar, Prof. Basanta Joshi shared details about the launch of a local interoperability lab aligned with the standards and interoperability lab at the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal (MoHP), as well as the initial activities undertaken by their lab. During the session, Prof. Basanta mentioned that they are looking to conduct training for interested faculty and students to understand how openIMIS is being used in Nepal, encourage them to participate in openIMIS webinars conducted by AeHIN, and request that AeHIN conduct capacity-building seminars. Prof. Basanta also mentioned their students' case studies on open-source tools, namely openIMIS, OpenMRS, and DHIS2, to customize their components for the context of Nepal.
Enhancing Health Financing System in Nepal: The Role of openIMIS in Advancing Universal Health Coverage
On July 3, 2025, AeHIN invited Ms. Junu Shrestha and Mr. Suresh Singh Tinkari from the Health Insurance Board of Nepal to present a webinar about openIMIS in the country. The webinar covered how Nepal is leveraging openIMIS and other digital solutions to streamline its administrative processes and enhance the sustainability of its health financing systems. The speakers discussed the challenges and opportunities in health financing in Nepal, managing Nepal's health insurance program with support from openIMIS and other digital solutions, Nepal's use of openIMIS within its health systems, and the benefits and potential barriers to adopting openIMIS for broader implementation across the country. Twenty-seven attendees joined the session.
An introduction to openIMIS at PhilHealth
On July 11, 2025, Dr. Alvin Marcelo from the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) and Saurav Bhattarai from openIMIS presented openIMIS' features to a team at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) headquarters. One of the key topics discussed was the potential use of openIMIS to test PhilHealth’s new service packages with its employees before rolling them out to the general public. This initiative is especially relevant as PhilHealth continues to rely on a legacy system, prompting the need for innovative tools to support modernization efforts.
openIMIS in Health Informatics: A Curriculum on Digital Health Financing at Kathmandu University
In this session, Prof. Rabindra Bista and Mr. Ashish Koirala shared their experiences in integrating openIMIS into Kathmandu University's Master of Health Informatics curriculum through a case study on how a real-world digital tool is being used to teach complex concepts in health financing and economics. This webinar included the process of course content adaptation and the key benefits for students. The webinar was held on August 21, 2025, with 38 attendees.
Joining Forces from Global Interoperability Labs to Enhance and Evaluate Interoperability of Open-Source Products
AeHIN joins the panel session, ‘Joining Forces from Global Interoperability Labs to Enhance and Evaluate Interoperability of Open-Source Products’ organized by openIMIS coordination desk at the European Federation for Medical Informatics Special Topic Conference (EFMI-STC) 2025.
Held on 21 October 2025, the session explored the important role of global interoperability labs in advancing the development, testing, and validation of open-source digital health solutions, particularly in resource-constrained settings of the Global South. In the context of Asia, Dr. Alvin Marcelo, Convenor of the AeHIN Community of Interoperability Labs (COIL), presented about the role of standards and interoperability labs in the region, highlighting a community-oriented approach to interoperability.
With key speakers from Africa, Asia, and global open-source communities, the session paved the way for discussions on key opportunities for networked interoperability efforts in the Global South.
More information on Country Hub Reports (2025): https://openimis.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OP/pages/4682022913/AeHIN+openIMIS+CoP+in+Asia+2025+Country+Hub+Reports
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