Thursday, August 04, 2022, the Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices through the Directorate of Production and Distribution of Medical Devices held an Evaluation and Monitoring meeting for the Implementation of Guidance for the Assisted Areas of the Directorate of Production and Distribution of Medical Devices which was attended by participants from provincial and district / city health offices, representatives of health centers and hospitals in Bali Province.

Director of Pharmaceutical Management and Services Dina Sintia Pamela, representing the Director of Production and Distribution of Medical Devices, in her report said that this activity was carried out as one of the support from the Ministry of Health to the fostered areas and the implementation of health development in the regions to share information and knowledge, socialize programs and policies of the Ministry of Health, especially in the field of pharmacy and medical devices.

The meeting, which was held in a hybrid manner at Le Meridien Hotel Jimbaran Bali on August 04 - 06, 2022, was officially opened by the Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Lucia Rizka Andalucia.

In his remarks and directions, the Director General said that pharmaceuticals and medical devices are inseparable from health services both in primary health care and referral. Therefore, the provision and management of medicines and medical devices is an important thing to pay attention to and requires the participation of various parties, including the Central Government, Regional Governments, Health Service Facilities, pharmaceutical and medical device business actors, and the wider community.

Access to medicines is explicitly recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One of the Sustainable Development Goal's (SDG's) targets states that improving access to medicines plays a role, such as in maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases, malaria, and sexual and reproductive health.

Access and availability of drugs is also a focus of the government, this is stated in the Ministry of Health's Strategic Plan through the Health Services and JKN Program with the program target "Increased drug availability and use of essential drugs in health services" and one of the indicators is "Percentage of health centers with essential drug availability".

In addition to drug availability, the Ministry of Health also seeks to encourage health resilience through the Health Services Program and JKN with the program target "Increased production and use of domestic raw materials for drugs, medical devices, diagnostic tools, vaccines".

One of the efforts made by the Ministry of Health is to accelerate the development of the pharmaceutical industry and medical devices, by ensuring the availability of safe, quality and useful drugs and medical devices as an effort to improve health services in the context of National Health Insurance, increasing the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry and medical devices in the country and exports, encouraging mastery of technology and innovation in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and accelerating independence and development of drug and medical device production to meet domestic and export needs and increase industrial capacity.

The high number of imported medical devices in health services in Indonesia is a challenge for all of us. Therefore, along with efforts to accelerate the development of the medical device industry, the Ministry of Health has formulated policies to encourage the use of drugs and medical devices, among others through the substitution of imported medical device products. If domestic products can meet national needs, then freeze imported medical device products will be carried out. "We need to familiarize health workers to use domestic medical devices," said the Director General.

On this occasion, the Director General of Pharmacy, accompanied by the Director of Pharmaceutical Management and Services and the Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals team, paid a working visit to the UPTD of Pharmaceutical Management, Health Supplies and Calibration Services of the Denpasar City Health Office; UPTD Puskesmas II of the West Denpasar District Health Office; and Puskesmas Kuta Selatan.

This working visit aims to ensure the safety of pharmaceutical preparations and medical devices in order to realize optimal health status, as well as the management of pharmaceutical preparations and medical devices that are safe, efficacious / useful, quality, and affordable for the community.