Indonesia calls for stronger safeguards as AI adoption expands in healthcare

Indonesia is calling for stronger safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with the government warning that errors involving increasingly autonomous systems could put patient safety and sensitive medical information at risk.

Nezar Patria, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, said on October 30 that AI adoption in healthcare required robust risk mitigation, particularly as systems were increasingly being used to support disease diagnosis and clinical decision-making.

He warned that technical failures or inaccurate AI-generated diagnoses could have serious consequences for patients. The use of sensitive health information also raised concerns about the confidentiality and protection of personal medical data.

Patria said AI development should not be assessed solely in terms of innovation and efficiency, but should also account for the potential risks associated with systems taking on greater decision-making responsibilities.

His comments were published in a statement by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs following an interview with CNBC Indonesia on October 27.

The remarks follow an announcement by the ministry on October 6 that Indonesia intends to develop sector-specific guidance for AI use in healthcare, education and financial services. Patria said the proposed National AI Roadmap would provide a common framework for organisations developing and deploying AI, while individual ministries and government agencies would be responsible for translating its principles into more detailed guidance for their respective sectors.

The draft roadmap, which is being discussed between government ministries and agencies, is also intended to establish principles for responsible AI development, including transparency, accountability and security. Patria said the government was also considering how national values could be reflected in AI development to address potential bias and discrimination.

The government is preparing to establish the roadmap through a presidential regulation, which was undergoing inter-ministerial discussion and harmonisation with the Ministry of Law at the time of the October announcement.

Healthcare-specific governance work is also underway within the Ministry of Health. In July, the ministry partnered with HealthAI, an international non-profit organisation focused on responsible AI in healthcare, to hold a two-day workshop examining AI governance and its application across the health sector. Indonesia is one of 10 pioneer countries participating in HealthAI’s Global Regulatory Network, which aims to support regulatory capacity for AI in healthcare.

The Ministry of Health is also examining the development of an operational and standardised AI governance framework for healthcare facilities, with research priorities including patient safety, personal data protection, the reliability of AI-generated outputs, ethics and interoperability.

The initiatives build on Indonesia’s existing legal framework, particularly Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection, which establishes requirements for the processing and protection of personal information, including sensitive data such as medical records.

As healthcare providers consider wider adoption of AI-enabled diagnostic tools, clinical decision-support systems and other digital health applications, questions remain over the reliability of AI-generated recommendations, the extent of human oversight and the allocation of responsibility when automated systems contribute to medical decisions.

The government has yet to detail the specific requirements that healthcare providers, technology developers and other organisations deploying AI in clinical settings may be expected to meet under the forthcoming sector-specific guidance.