'Hospitals tend to exploit patients'<\/p>\n
Many poor people say that hospitals, including those run by the
\nstate, offer them inferior services because they do not have the
\nmoney to pay for quality health care. The Jakarta Post spoke with
\na number of residents about the issue.<\/p>\n
Marius Widjajarta, 51, is a doctor and head of the Indonesian
\nHealth Consumers Empowerment Foundation. He lives in Bintaro,
\nTangerang, with his wife and son:<\/p>\n
I can't deny that many profit-oriented hospitals tend to
\nexploit patients, maybe by offering health care packages.<\/p>\n
I'm afraid all hospitals will become more profit-oriented with
\nregional autonomy because they will be a source of income for the
\nprovinces or regencies\/municipalities.<\/p>\n
There is a basic principle that hospitals must not turn away
\npatients in emergency cases, even if they do not have the money
\nto pay for their care. But this does not work at all. Hospitals
\ncan act like the mafia because there are no regulations on
\nmedical services.<\/p>\n
There needs to be some kind of cross-subsidy from the rich to
\nallow the poor to have access to health care. But consumers are
\nnot aware of this because of the lack of a public campaign.<\/p>\n
I think an improved health insurance system would curb this
\nkind of exploitation because insurance companies would have to
\nscrutinize the hospitals' claims.<\/p>\n
Rita, 27, is a medical doctor at a clinic in Kalibaru, Central
\nJakarta. She lives in Salemba, Central Jakarta, with her husband:<\/p>\n
I disagree with the discriminatory practices of many hospitals
\nnowadays. Patients should be the first priority and the financial
\nnegotiations can come after that.<\/p>\n
The health of patients is far more important than their social
\nstatus and financial standing.<\/p>\n
I cannot deny that many hospitals are like shopping centers,
\nselling various treatments to make a profit.<\/p>\n
Hospitals have no reason to reject patients, even if they
\ncan't make a down payment. They can recommend the patients to
\nanother hospital, but don't refuse them.<\/p>\n
Every hospital should have a program to help the poor.<\/p>\n
But the patients must also cooperate. If their condition is
\nnot an emergency, they must be understanding about getting slower
\ntreatment. Usually patients insist on being seen first even if
\nthere are other patients who are more critical.<\/p>\n
Opi, 29, works for a company in South Jakarta. She lives in
\nTangerang with her family:<\/p>\n
When my grandmother was in the emergency room of a hospital in
\nCentral Jakarta, the nurses asked me to pay Rp 250,000 (US$29.41)
\nfor medicine every day. But they refused to show me the medicine
\nor the prescription, even when I insisted.<\/p>\n
The administrative staff also refused to provide copies of the
\nprescription.<\/p>\n
I suspect that hospitals blackmail patients' families, who are
\nalready paying Rp 500,000 a day for their loved ones to be
\ntreated in the emergency room.<\/p>\n
During my grandmother's three-week stay in the hospital, we
\nrarely saw any doctors coming to check on her. But the hospital
\ncharged us hundreds of thousands of rupiah for doctor
\nexaminations.<\/p>\n
We paid Rp 40 million and my grandmother died the third week
\nshe was in the hospital. We had to pay the hospital bill even
\nthough it had exploited my grandmother to make money.<\/p>\n
-- Leo Wahyudi S.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hospitals-tend-to-exploit-patients-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }