Indonesia–Australia Collaboration Advances the Use of AI to Strengthen Primary Health Care

AI in healthcare represents a significant step forward in improving the quality of healthcare services in Lombok and Garut.

Mataram, 27 August 2026 – The use of artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence/AI) in primary health care continues to evolve as an approach to help health workers manage information, monitor patients’ conditions, and provide more responsive services. Lessons from the development and implementation of AI at the primary care level were the focus of the AI in Health Care Project National Dissemination Webinar, held in a hybrid format at Lombok Astoria, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.

The webinar brought together representatives from government, academia, research institutions, health workers, and development partners to share experiences and lessons learned from the development and implementation of AI technologies in the context of maternal and child health services.

The AI in Health Care Project is a collaborative initiative between Summit Institute for Development (SUMMIT), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), CSIRO Australia, and the University of Mataram (UNRAM), with support from KONEKSI – Australia-Indonesia Knowledge Partnership. The project was developed in response to needs at the primary health care level, particularly the need to manage and make more effective use of maternal health data that is still partly recorded manually to support service delivery.

As part of the project, the partners developed three interconnected technology components: Bunda Optical Character Recognition (OCR), AI Predictive Dashboard, and AI Personalized Message.

Bunda OCR was developed to help midwives digitize information from the Maternal and Child Health Handbook (Buku KIA). The technology enables information previously recorded as handwritten entries in health documents to be converted into digital data, reducing the need for manual data transfer and allowing the information to become part of subsequent data management workflows.

The available data can then be utilized through the AI Predictive Dashboard, designed as a decision-support tool for health workers. The dashboard presents pregnancy information and risk predictions in an easier-to-monitor format, helping midwives assess patients’ conditions, identify patients requiring greater attention, prioritize services, and support appropriate follow-up.

Meanwhile, AI Personalized Message extends the use of technology directly to pregnant women. Using WhatsApp as a communication channel, the system can help deliver more relevant health information, education, and messages based on available information about each pregnant woman. This approach is expected to encourage pregnant women to become more engaged in understanding and maintaining their pregnancy health.

The three components were developed as an integrated process, beginning with data digitization, transforming data into information that can support health workers, and ultimately strengthening health communication with pregnant women.

The dissemination webinar also provided a platform for health workers from four implementation districts, West Lombok, East Lombok, Central Lombok, and Garut, to share their experiences. These experiences offered insights into how the technologies were tested within day-to-day health care settings, while highlighting important lessons for the development and implementation of AI in primary health care.

Technology Demonstration Session developed under the AI ​​in Healthcare Project

In addition to presentations on implementation results, participants had the opportunity to watch demonstrations of the three technologies, from the digitization process using Bunda OCR and the use of the AI Predictive Dashboard to the delivery of health messages through AI Personalized Message.

The forum also presented findings from an impact assessment conducted throughout the project. The findings provided insights into user experiences, the use of the tools in health care processes, and lessons learned from implementing the technologies in real-world settings.

Hj. Erni Suryana, Head of the West Lombok Health Agency, shares her views on the implementation of AI in healthcare services.

Through panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions, stakeholders explored both the opportunities and challenges of implementing AI within Indonesia’s health system. Discussions covered the need for cross-sector collaboration, infrastructure and digital ecosystem readiness, human resource capacity, data quality and governance, as well as the importance of ensuring that AI use continues to place health workers and community needs at the center of health care delivery.

CEO of Summit Institute for Development, Yuni Dwi Setiyawati, said that the development of these technologies was driven by the need to make existing health data more useful for health service delivery.

“Much of our health data is scattered and is often not yet utilized optimally. This is what motivated us to explore ways to digitize manually recorded data so that it can be processed and used to help health workers respond more quickly,” said Yuni.

Through collaboration among research institutions, universities, technology partners, government, and health workers, the project is expected to contribute valuable lessons for developing AI solutions that respond to the needs of primary health care services in Indonesia. Going forward, the experiences and lessons from implementation can serve as a foundation for further development and broader adoption of these technologies.