Jakarta, Indonesia, June 30, 2022 – Bio Farma, the parent company of Indonesia’s pharmaceutical state-owned enterprises (SOEs), today announced that it is collaborating with Google Cloud, Fitbit, and ConnectedLife on a new digital health initiative called “Preventive Care Medwell,” in support of the government’s “Healthy Indonesia” blueprint and vision. Under this initiative, the organizations have developed “ConnectedLife with Fitbit,” a personalized wellness and population health virtual platform―the first of its kind locally―to empower Indonesians to take decisive steps toward healthier living and chronic disease prevention.
ConnectedLife with Fitbit is built on Google Cloud’s open, scalable, and secure-by-design infrastructure and data services. The platform allows users to sync their health insights from the Fitbit application with the ConnectedLife web and mobile dashboard for a holistic view of how lifestyle factors like daily activity, nutrition, sleep, and stress levels impact their health and wellness. Upon receiving user consent, ConnectedLife with Fitbit will analyze the user’s data to return a dynamic “Wellness Score,” along with personalized insights, recommendations, and gamified experiences that motivate the user to initiate meaningful and sustained behavioral change.
By further aggregating free-living data from Fitbit, clinical data from other connected medical devices during health screenings, and self-logged data, the ConnectedLife with Fitbit platform can help individuals adjust their lifestyles to keep blood glucose levels within a healthy range and reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions like diabetes mellitus.
“At Bio Farma, our mission is to not only cure diseases, but to also help individuals start early and tackle illness at its root, before it progresses to the point of requiring treatment. This is why we’ve been encouraging and administering regular health screenings and vaccinations for the past few decades. Through the Preventive Care Medwell initiative, we are now harnessing world-class technologies and data science expertise to advance personalized preventive care at scale,” said Soleh Ayubi, PhD, Chief Transformation and Digital Officer, Bio Farma. “By utilizing Google Cloud and ConnectedLife with Fitbit’s industry-leading capabilities in wearable technology, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as their experience in building trusted digital platforms and ecosystems, we hope to empower Indonesians to take control of their health, adopt a lifestyle that prevents chronic and severe diseases, and age gracefully with enhanced quality of life.”
“As the parent holding pharmaceutical SOE, Bio Farma will continue to advance the healthcare sector’s digital transformation. Telemedicine, for instance, is another digital health service that we’re rolling out soon to the wider community, in support of the Indonesian government’s efforts to strengthen national health resilience,” said Honesti Basyir, CEO, Bio Farma. “Cross-sector collaboration with the likes of Google Cloud, which is a leader in the field of technology, will also be needed to accelerate healthcare transformation. We hope that such collaborations will inspire the design and delivery of more digital health innovations and initiatives like Preventive Care Medwell.”
“The systemic shift from traditional hospital-centric care to patient-centered preventive care is a big challenge, but the right one to undertake. It also requires considerable commitment and effort from many stakeholders, and not just the government,” said Pahala Mansury, Vice Minister, Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises. “We therefore welcome the collaboration between Bio Farma, Google Cloud, and ConnectedLife with Fitbit. In addition to driving positive lifestyle changes in individuals, platform data from the Preventive Care Medwell initiative will serve as a key resource for insights that inform future programs, such as precision public health that delivers interventions to the right population at the right time. Successful nationwide preventive and precision care programs can make a huge difference in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic illnesses. This will ease the burden on families and hospitals, and ensure that our country’s healthcare system and fiscal position remain sustainable in the long term.”
With privacy and security of utmost importance when launching the Preventive Care Medwell initiative, ConnectedLife uses Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade capabilities in data encryption, attack surface management, network security, and identity and access management to implement rigorous security controls, data governance, and enhanced data protection across the entire virtual platform. When individuals register for the Preventive Care Medwell initiative, a clear and transparent consent process―facilitated through a secure web application programming interface―is initiated for them to indicate if they agree to share their data.
The platform is currently being piloted with 300 early adopters, who have each received a Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Charge 5. Once the pilot is complete, Bio Farma and its subsidiaries will roll out the platform to its nationwide network of 450 clinics, 1,200 pharmacies, and commercial partners within the next six to nine months. These healthcare providers and employers will then extend the digital health initiative to their patients and employees.
Through the platform, healthcare providers and employers will be able to leverage a separate data visualization tool to provide individuals with a deeper understanding of their health risk profiles. By seamlessly syncing data from users’ ConnectedLife with Fitbit dashboards, health screening records, and other sources, the tool enables healthcare providers and employers to remotely assess and detect emerging health risks at an individual and population level, so they can design targeted interventions or programs that will have a positive impact on their patients or employees’ health and wellness.
“With Fitbit’s technology ecosystem facilitating health improvements for millions across the world and Google Cloud’s Healthcare Data Engine already accelerating the development of Bio Farma’s Polio, Tetanus, and COVID-19 vaccines, this new initiative is an extension and recognition of our collective and positive work to date,” said Megawaty Khie, Country Director, Indonesia, Google Cloud. “With ConnectedLife as our innovation partner, we are confident that the combination of devices, software, and personalized services – along with robust accountability for data acquisition, privacy, and protection – can bring meaning to health information, motivate Indonesians to take proactive steps toward preventive health, and enable local healthcare providers to deliver efficient and high-quality care.”
About Bio Farma
PT Bio Farma (Persero) is the largest pharmaceutical SOE holding in Indonesia that engages the health sector with end-to-end services, from pharmaceutical research and development, manufacturing, and distribution, to operating retail pharmacies, clinics, and clinical labs. The company is the only human vaccine producer in Indonesia and the largest human vaccine producer in Southeast Asia. To support its business activities, Bio Farma has a head office and factory spanning 91,058 square meters in Bandung. The company also has a representative office in Jakarta. With a production capacity of more than 3.2 billion vaccine doses per year, the company has exported its products to more than 150 countries. Bio Farma is the parent company of three pharmaceutical issuers on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), namely PT Kimia Farma Tbk (KAEF), PT Indofarma Tbk (INAF), and PT Phapros Tbk (PEHA). For more information, visit: www.biofarma.co.id
About Google Cloud
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