The Tamesis
As demand grows, it may roll out the model in urban hospitals.
Radjak Hospital Group launched a dedicated advanced heart and stroke response unit in November with the goal of treating two of Indonesia’s most pressing medical emergencies more quickly as city hospitals grapple with rising cardiovascular cases and growing congestion.
“Our starting point is very practical,” Abdul Barry, director of the Radjak Hospital Group, told Asian Healthcare. “In urban areas, distance and procedure are the biggest enemies for heart attack and stroke patients. We built this device to eliminate both.”
Urbanization is reshaping healthcare needs in Indonesia’s major cities. Population density increases pressure on emergency services, while traffic, distance and fragmented hospital workflows continue to delay treatment for heart disease and stroke, where survival often depends on minutes.
Traditional hospital care often sends patients to multiple departments—emergency department, imaging, interventional and critical care—adding time at each step. Rajak’s unit condenses these stages into a single, coordinated pathway that enables triage, advanced imaging, catheterization and enhanced monitoring under one system.
The department is located in densely populated urban areas where emergency response times are most difficult to manage. By reducing internal transfers and realigning clinical teams, Radjak aims to shorten the time between diagnosis and intervention.
“In the case of heart attacks and strokes, if the system is running slowly, the clock will always win,” Barry said in an interview. “The goal is to make sure the system is running at the same speed as in an emergency.”
Rajak believes the unit could be replicated across its city hospital network as demand increases. Instead of relying on referrals between facilities, the group is focusing on standardized professional services that can operate consistently across locations.
Early results show fewer diagnostic delays and smoother patient flow, supporting Rajak’s view that urban hospitals must meet ongoing demand, not just peak demand.
“Machines don’t save lives—systems do,” Barry said. “Technology only matters if it shortens the path to treatment.”
The unit is supported by network-wide electronic medical records and AI-assisted diagnostic tools, allowing clinicians to quickly access patient data and coordinate care across teams. Barry said the consolidation reduced administrative delays in critical cases.
“If digital tools add steps, they will fail,” he said. “In critical care, they have to remove them.”
Cardiovascular disease and stroke remain the leading causes of death in Indonesia, with rates rising fastest in urban areas. Radjak’s focus on time-critical specialization reflects what it sees as the greatest pressure on health care capacity over the next decade.
“Hospitals operating in cities must meet ongoing demand,” Barry said. “This unit is our response to that reality.”
