If doctors hurt but not help: It's malpractice<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For \"Maya\", going to the doctor to seek help only leads to
\nmore pain.<\/p>\n
It started when a surgeon left a catheter near her kidney. She
\nspent the next two and a half years in misery.<\/p>\n
Maya fought for her rights and demanded the surgeon fix what
\nwas wrong. It was a struggle for her as the management of the
\nhospitable, a reputable one in Jakarta, washed its hands of the
\nmatter and said it was all the doctor's responsibility.<\/p>\n
Maya is not alone in having to suffer from a professional
\nblunder.<\/p>\n
Yet it is not always a case of doctor knows best, and when
\nthey do make mistakes, it's still not easy to put matters right
\nfor the patient here.<\/p>\n
In Maya's case, she received monetary compensation for the
\nharm, which also included the cost of removing the catheter.<\/p>\n
But, unlike other parts of the world, awareness of patients'
\nrights remains low in this country. Other people who have
\nsuffered from medical malpractice, including relatives of
\npatients killed, decide not to pursue with the case due to the
\nemotional pain involved, or because of the fear of confronting
\nauthority.<\/p>\n
\"We prefer not to bring up our case again because we have
\nsuffered enough. It would take time for our complaint to be
\nprocessed and, if we succeed, any compensation will not bring
\nback the lives of my loved ones,\" said \"Winfrid\", a retired Army
\nbrigadier general.<\/p>\n
Winfrid lost his daughter and grandson when doctors at a
\nluxury hospital in South Jakarta misdiagnosed their condition and
\nprescribed them the wrong medicine.<\/p>\n
Still stressed and angered by the loss, his choice of action
\nhas been to avoid the hospital. But he is unwilling to take a
\nstand to ensure that others do not suffer from the terrible
\nconsequences of professional incompetence.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment
\nFoundation (YPKKI), Marius Widjajarta, said it was better to
\nreport or lodge complaints to \"competent institutions\".<\/p>\n
\"Now it's you, but later it can happen to others. Why not
\nprevent the same error if we can?,\" Marius said.<\/p>\n
The foundation has handled 147 cases since its founding four
\nyears ago. Most of the cases were settled through negotiation
\nwith doctors or hospitals where the malpractice took place.<\/p>\n
\"We only give advocacy, and if the victims want to proceed to
\ncourt, we will transfer their cases to the University of
\nIndonesia's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH-UI),\" he said, adding there
\nwas no charge to patients for YPKKI's mediation.<\/p>\n
Secretary of the ethical and honorary council of the
\nIndonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Agus Purwadianto said that
\nthe council received up to 40 complaints a year.<\/p>\n
He said about 20 percent of those were accidents caused by the
\ndoctor's negligence, while the majority resulted from
\nmiscommunication between doctors and patients.<\/p>\n
\"We process the complaints and summon the doctors, even those
\nwho are not IDI members,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said that the council could revoke a doctor's license in
\nthe most serious violations. However, he said that only one
\ndoctor, former Bandung-based physician Simon Gunawan, had lost
\nhis license, after using a nonconventional method for treating
\nthe liver disease of the late Adam Malik, a former vice
\npresident. And that was in 1985.<\/p>\n
Marius said the country's poor regulation of the health sector
\nwas among the contributing factors to widespread malpractice.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the government had yet to issue
\nregulations for the elaboration of Health Law No. 23\/1992.<\/p>\n
He said that several items of legislation were in fact
\nurgently needed to protect the rights of health consumers, such
\nas laws on standardized professions of doctors and paramedics,
\nthe rights of patients, occupational health, certain medical
\ntreatments for pregnant women and requirements and procedures of
\nplastic surgery and reconstruction.<\/p>\n
Due to the absence of health legislation, if there were
\nmalpractice cases brought to court, the judges would class them
\nunder the Criminal Code, Marius said.<\/p>\n
\"The verdict will be very light as the cases will be regarded
\nas general crimes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also alleged that IDI focused merely on protecting the
\nprofession and not upholding patients' rights.<\/p>\n
Agus denied the allegation, saying the council stood above the
\nassociation itself and worked as independently as possible to
\nrespond to any public complaints.<\/p>\n
Usually after meeting with the council and having their
\ngrievances heard, irate patients or their relatives are relieved,
\nAgus said.<\/p>\n
He said the public must take a critical perspective and always
\nask doctors questions if they did not understand their treatment.
\n\"It is their right to put questions to the doctors because it is
\ntheir body and their health that are put at stake.\"<\/p>\n
As a precautionary measure, the public can check the
\nreputation of a hospital before deciding to use its services.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Consumers' Foundation (YLKI, Tel. 7971378,
\n7981858\/59) has collected the public's complaints about hospitals
\nin Jakarta and put them on a rating list.<\/p>\n
\"The public as consumers can check with us as we can't
\npublicize the data. We welcome any questions if the consumers are
\nseeking our advice for their choices,\" YLKI's executive Muhammad
\nIkhsan said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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