Jakarta. The Indonesian government has approved operational permits for 25 hospital-based Specialist Medical Education Programs (PPDS) as it seeks to address the country’s shortage of medical specialists.

Presidential Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman said the permits were approved and handed over following a ministerial-level meeting on Monday. The meeting was attended by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Deputy Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Fauzan, and Sukadiono, deputy for health quality improvement coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs.

“The President has reminded us of the crisis caused by the shortage of 268,073 medical specialists. We urgently need an additional 55,712 medical specialists who must be immediately deployed to 481 cities and regencies,” Dudung said.

The shortage has direct implications for access to healthcare, particularly in frontier, outermost and disadvantaged regions, including remote islands.

The policy follows President Prabowo Subianto’s directive during the annual session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Aug. 14 to address the shortage of specialist doctors.

185 Specialist Programs Approved
The government has established two pathways for specialist medical education: hospital-based and university-based programs.

With the addition of the 25 new programs, 185 specialist training programs have been approved in 2026. The 25 hospital-based programs operate at Main Teaching Hospitals (RSPPU), while 160 university-based programs were approved in February.

“Both schemes meet national and global accreditation standards, have equivalent legal standing, and are ready to accelerate the deployment of medical specialists to even the most remote parts of the country on a sustainable scale,” Dudung said.

The expansion follows efforts over the past two months by the Executive Office of the President and relevant ministries to address regulatory inconsistencies and bureaucratic hurdles that had limited the development of specialist training.

The government has also set lower fees for specialist trainees at Main Teaching Hospitals. Students in surgical programs will pay Rp 2 million per semester, while those in non-surgical programs will pay Rp 1.5 million.

Under a resource-sharing mechanism, clinical teaching doctors can continue working at their home hospitals while also teaching specialist trainees.

The government said resolving regulatory, funding and staffing issues will be crucial to expanding specialist training without disrupting healthcare services.

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