Eleven Health Innovators Clear the Kemenkes Sandbox as Komdigi Says Medical AI Must Keep Humans in Charge

Indonesia’s Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) showcased eleven health technology innovators that have passed its regulatory sandbox at the Health Innovation Showcase 2026 on October 27, the ministry and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) said in separate releases. The innovators were assessed in part on whether their products can integrate with SATUSEHAT, the national health data platform that links hospitals, clinics and laboratories.

Several of the innovations rely on artificial intelligence. They include tools that detect signs of tuberculosis on chest X-rays, genetic testing services, and systems that turn conversations between doctors and patients into medical-record summaries. Deputy Health Minister Prof. Dante Saksono Harbuwono said AI should support clinical judgment rather than replace it, and that innovation must widen access and raise the quality of care.

Komdigi Deputy Minister Nezar Patria set out four pillars for digital health innovation and pointed to the ministry’s Garuda Spark programme, which he said has drawn more than Rp429 billion in investment, with a target of Rp1 trillion by the end of 2026. On AI in medicine he was blunt: the risk, he said, is human lives.

What it means in practice

The sandbox lets regulators test new tools before they spread, and it fits the approach Komdigi has described of writing sector-specific AI rules for health, education and finance rather than relying on one blanket law. The ministry has also said it will back safety by design instead of slowing AI down. Tuberculosis screening is a sensible early target: Indonesia carries one of the world’s heaviest TB burdens, and AI reading of X-rays can help clinics without a radiologist flag patients for confirmatory tests.

For hospitals, SATUSEHAT integration matters as much as accuracy. A tool that cannot send results into the national record adds work for staff instead of saving it. Automated note-taking raises its own questions about patient consent, where recordings are stored, and who checks a summary before it enters a medical file.

What to watch next is how many of the eleven innovators move from sandbox status to wider use in public hospitals and puskesmas, and whether the health ministry publishes its evaluation criteria so other developers know what is expected of them.