inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Health Ministry wants the addition of more Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans in 16 governmental hospitals across Indonesia to be completed by 2027.

“As of 2027, the government will provide 18 more PET scans from the current three units, bringing the total to 21. The equipment will be distributed to 16 hospital across Indonesia such as in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Maluku, Papua, and East Nusa Tenggara,” says Minister Budi on Monday (9/9/2024).

Minister Budi explains that PET scan is an important technology to early detect cancer and determine its spreading area. According to him, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, with 9.6 million deaths per year. Meanwhile in Indonesia there are 136 cancer cases per 100,000 people, ranking Indonesia as the 8th highest in Southeast Asia.

With the addition of the new equipment, he hopes that this effort would help suppress the number of fatalities due to cancer in Indonesia.

He said that the use of PET Scans in hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health can only be covered by the Health Social Security Administering Body (BPJS) once in a lifetime per patient because the operational costs of the device are quite expensive.

“For now the use will be covered by BPJS once in a lifetime, although they may need it more than once. If the cost is lower, we can communicate it further with BPJS,” says Minister Budi.

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