This was conveyed by a Clinical and Community Pharmacy Research Group Lecturer at the ITB School of Pharmacy, Apt. Tjokorde Wife Armina Padmasawitri, S.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., during her scientific oration at the Institut Teknologi Bandung 64th Anniversary Open Session on Thursday (2/3/2023). Through this oration, she conveyed the reflections she got regarding three years of COVID-19 which impacted the world.

Security of Medicinal Raw Materials

Security of medicinal raw materials for the healthcare system’s resilience is one of the important aspects that must be owned by a country. Armina explained that when the Covid-19 virus outbreak hit, Indonesia and even the United States had experienced drug shortages due to the panic buying phenomenon and disturbances in drug productions caused by lockdown protocols. Therefore, it is necessary for a country to achieve security at medicinal raw materials even though it is not easy.

The Rapidly Developing Research in Healthcare Technology

Furthermore, the School of Pharmacy lecturer stated that the development of healthcare technology such as drugs, vaccines and supporting tools for diagnosis can be carried out in a very short time. The development of drugs, vaccines and supporting tools for diagnosis generally takes about 10-20 years. However, due to the urgency of COVID-19, the duration for developing healthcare technology can be shortened to just 1-2 years.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic period, we were able to witness the development of healthcare technology such as drugs, vaccines, and supporting tools for diagnosis in such a short time. From this event, we realize that research in the healthcare technology sector is not difficult, so we can prepare beforehand and keep developing to be ready to face new challenges in the future,” she said.

Armina added that the world of healthcare needs to ensure that the development of healthcare technology products that are being carried out meets applicable and sustainable prerequisites. The Health Technology Assessment is one of the references that can be used as a tool to review the application potential of healthcare technology which is not only seen from the clinical impact, but also from the economic, social, organizational and ethical impacts.

Safety and Quality of Healthcare Technology

The fourth reflection delivered by her was regarding the safety, benefit and quality issues of healthcare technology during the COVID-19 period. Apart from being considered as an extraordinary achievement, the very massive development of healthcare technology in this era, in reality, also raises doubts. In response to this, she hoped that researchers, healthcare technology producers and relevant authorities make public safety a top priority.

Cooperation and Collaboration is Key

During difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is undeniable that this event has increased collaboration, cooperation and solidarity between many parties, including governments, educational institutions, research institutions and the manufacturing industry in the process of solving disease outbreaks. Of course, this is a phenomenon that must be maintained since it is very influential for the success of handling an outbreak in a country.

"Later, even though COVID-19 has ended, the development of healthcare technology products must continue in order to create healthcare system security. For this reason, stakeholders must be able to learn lessons from the pandemic to strengthen our country's capacity in developing healthcare technology products and remain in synergy so that the handling of this problem can run effectively," he concluded.

Reporter: Nur Rama Adamas (Civil Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Hanna Daniela Ayu (Aerospace Engineering, 2021)