Doctors not immune to GATT<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's doctors should begin preparing
\nthemselves for greater competition from abroad, which is required
\nunder the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Minister
\nof Health Sujudi said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The minister, himself a physician by training, prescribed
\nintrospection as a preparatory treatment for doctors as the era
\nof free competition looms.<\/p>\n
Sujudi said doctors should take a hard look at themselves. \"We
\nhave to ask ourselves why patients here like to seek medical
\nservices overseas,\" he said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Patients want to know about the medicines they are told to
\ntake, and why they need surgery,\" he said after installing new
\nsecond-echelon officials in the ministry. \"Patients are getting
\nmore critical, and maybe they are finding services abroad more
\nsatisfactory.\"<\/p>\n
\"Medical staff must build the trust of their patients,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The issue of greater foreign competition surfaced during a
\nseminar on the impact of foreign investment in the health sector
\nheld by the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) this week.<\/p>\n
The association urged the government to weigh the advantages
\nand the disadvantages of opening Indonesia's health sector to
\nforeign investors, which is required under GATT.<\/p>\n
Sujudi said the government advocated the use of local
\npersonnel, as far as possible, in the health sector.<\/p>\n
He said that his ministry would be working together with the
\nMinistry of Manpower to draw up new regulations on the employment
\nof foreign medical personnel in the country.<\/p>\n
The regulations would be ready before 2020, the deadline for
\nthe implementation of the GATT in the health services sector, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
One of the requirements facing medical personnel seeking to
\nwork in Indonesia is that they pass local examinations to ensure
\na minimum standard, he said. \"Another criteria is fluency in
\nBahasa Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
The current regulations allow foreign doctors to work in
\nIndonesia only in positions that cannot be filled by Indonesians.
\nUnder the new GATT such a broad restriction will not be
\npermitted.<\/p>\n
Doctors at the seminar warned that opening the doors to
\nforeign doctors could mean that those doctors entering would be
\nof \"third grade quality.\"<\/p>\n
A number of local companies have already joined up with
\nforeign investors in building health institutions. For instance,
\nSingapore-based Gleneagles and a local consortium, PT Nusa Medika
\nPerkasa, which includes the Lippo City Development group, plan to
\nbuild 15 hospitals in various cities.<\/p>\n
Sujudi stressed that the main employment rules still applied
\nfor the time being, notwithstanding that the companies had been
\ngranted investment approval.<\/p>\n
\"Requests to employ foreign personnel are only allowed if they
\ncan prove that local staff with the necessary skills are not
\navailable,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the medical association, Azrul Azwar, said
\nthat one benefit of foreign investment would be better quality
\nservices as a result of \"sharper competition.\" However, this
\nwould also lead to higher costs, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Patients will have to be prepared to pay more,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Azrul said a regulation on health services rates was needed.<\/p>\n
Sujudi said, however, that regulating rates was not yet
\npossible.<\/p>\n
\"The possibility of regulating rates depends on insurance,\" he
\nsaid. Only 15 percent of the population has health insurance.<\/p>\n
An official from the Ministry of Trade, Painan Nainggolan, who
\nalso spoke at Thursday's seminar, urged the health community to
\nshow a \"clear commitment\" in facing the free flow of services.<\/p>\n
\"The health community must be actively involved in
\nmultilateral agreements to ensure the most benefits\" for the
\ncountry, Nainggolan said. (anr)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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