The Deputy Minister of Health of Indonesia Prof. dr. Dante Saksono Harbuwono, Sp.PD-KEMD, this morning (22/10) was inaugurated as a professor in the field of internal medicine. Inauguration of Professor for Prof. Dante was led by UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., in the Hall of Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Indonesia (FKUI) and was live broadcasted virtually through UI Teve Youtube channel. The participants of the inauguration were the Chair of the Board of Professors Prof. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, S.H., M.A., Ph.D; the Chair of the Academic Senate of University Prof. Nachrowi Djalal Nachrowi, M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D.; Vice Rector for Research and Innovation drg. Nurtami, Ph.D., Sp, OF(K); the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, Sp.PD-KGEH, MMB; 16 Deans and Directors of faculties/schools/Vocational Education Programs; UI Professors; the Faculty of Medicine Professor of Unika Atma Jaya Prof. Dr. dr. Juda Turana; and the Faculty of Medicine Professor of Universitas Hasanuddin Prof. dr. David H. Mulyono. Prof. Dante became the 15th professor to be inaugurated by UI in 2022.
In the rows of invited guests were the Vice President of Indonesia for the period 2004 – 2009 and the period 2014 – 2019 Dr. (H.C.) Drs. H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla; the Minister of Health of Indonesia Ir. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, CHFC, CLU.; Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia General TNI (HOR) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, M.P.A.; the Head of Medicine and Health Center (Kapusdokkes) of Indonesian National Police Inspector General. Pol. dr. Asep Hendradiana, Sp.An., KIC., M.Kes.; the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Indonesia Harvick Hasnul Qolbi; the Deputy Minister of State Owned Enterprises of Indonesia Pahala Nugraha Mansury; the Deputy Minister of Manpower of Indonesia Afriansyah Noor; the Minister of Research and Technology of Indonesia/Head of Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency for the period 2019-2021, and the Professor of Faculty of Economics and Business of UI Prof. Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro, S.E., M.U.P., Ph.D.; UI Rector for the 2002-2007 period Prof. dr. Usman Chatib Warsa; the Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology (Dirjen Diktiristek)/ Professor of Civil Engineering of Universitas Gadjah Mada Prof. Ir. Nizam, M.Sc., DIC., Ph.D.; the Deputy Chairman of Indonesian Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Dr. Agus Joko Pramono, M.Acc., Ak., CA., CSFA., CPA., CFrA., QGIA., CGCAE; the President Director of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital dr. Lies Dina Liastuti, Sp.JP; and hundreds of other guests.
Along with the times and technology, the world of medicine is also experiencing developments that bring it into a new era. In the future, we will enter the era of precision medicine, with medical services provided specifically to each patient based on their characteristics, which include gene characteristics, health issues experienced by the patient, conditions or comorbidities, traits and habits, and the influence of the surrounding environment.
The provision of medical services by taking into account the combination of various specific characteristics is expected to produce appropriate and optimal services for each patient, both at the stages of prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Prof. Dante further mentioned that the implementation of precision medicine is made possible by the rapid development of technology, as well as digitalization.
“Technological developments allow gene testing to be carried out more routinely, which is an important part of the development of medical science and the practice of precision medicine. The digitalization era allows the assimilation of this gene data with other patient characteristics data digitally through electronic medical records. The combination of these data is then used as the basis for selecting a specific treatment for each patient. In the field of endocrinology, precision medicine is applied to diabetes and various thyroid diseases,” said Prof. Dante in his speech entitled “Precision Medicine as the Future of Medical Services in Indonesia: Focusing on Diabetes Mellitus and Thyroid Disorders”.
Currently, according to Prof. Dante, about 8.5% of the Indonesian population has diabetes with an increasing trend, and more than 30% of patients do not achieve the expected treatment results. “The application of precision medicine in diabetes can be seen by creating a more detailed grouping of diabetes patients into various subgroups based on a combination of gene and clinical characteristics of the patient. With this detailed grouping, treatment is given specifically to each group. In addition, the administration of drugs to diabetic patients is given more precisely according to each patient’s suitability for certain drugs. With these various things, the results of diabetes treatment are expected to be more optimal,” said the Deputy Minister of Health.
He said that precision medicine is also applied to the most common thyroid diseases, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and thyroid lumps. Gene examination and various sophisticated laboratory tests are conducted to delve deeper into these diseases. The results are then combined with other patient characteristics to determine the best course of treatment, such as whether or not surgery is needed for a thyroid lump.
At the end of his speech, Prof. Dante said that Indonesia needs to prepare, implement, and contribute to the implementation of the era of precision medicine. This can be realized, among others, by the wider application of gene examination, both in the realm of medicine and research. The development of technology makes this possible, with the cost of gene testing increasingly affordable.
Prof. Dante completed Medical Education Study Program at FKUI in 1997. Then in 1999-2004, he completed his Internal Medicine Specialist Education at FKUI ; and in 2008 he received his Doctor of Philosophy, Life Science, at the University of Yamanashi, Japan. In 2012, he was named Consultant of Endocrinology Metabolism and Diabetes, Collegium of Internal Medicine, Jakarta.
Throughout the period 2009-present, Prof. Dante has produced 18 scientific research papers published nationally and internationally and seven books. Three titles of his latest scientific work include “Challenges in the diagnosis of insulin resistance: Focusing on the role of HOMA-IR and Tryglyceride/glucose index” Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews. 2022; “Adherence to the healthy lifestyle guideline in relation to the metabolic syndrome: Analyses from the 2013 and 2018 Indonesian national health surveys.” Preventive Medicine Reports. 2022; and “Effect of calorie restriction diet on levels of C reactive protein (CRP) in obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: 2022.” Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. 2022.
