Indonesia’s stroke care delayed by referral and insurance bottlenecks

A new report finds structural delays before treatment are the biggest barrier to timely stroke care in Indonesia, with significant time lost during hospital referral and insurance processing. Experts presented the findings at Hospital Management Asia 2026 in Bangkok. The report highlights uneven coverage, as thrombectomy-capable districts are concentrated in Western Indonesia, forcing severe stroke patients to transfer long distances. Low public awareness, inconsistent emergency protocols, and gaps in BPJS Kesehatan insurance funding compound these delays, despite national progress toward thrombolysis coverage by 2027. Experts recommend capability-based referral routing, investment in trained stroke teams, and AI-enhanced tele-stroke networks to extend specialist care into Eastern Indonesia. They also cite hub-and-spoke models in Yogyakarta and Bali as successful examples for scaling a national referral network.