Experts warn public against crimes by health professionals
Experts warn public against crimes by health professionals
JAKARTA (JP): Three experts warned the public against white-
collar crimes by medical professionals, particularly because such
crimes are rarely prosecuted successfully by the authorities.
Agus Purwadianto, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's
School of Medicine, said on Saturday that malpractice and
collusion in the medical profession are rampant in big cities,
especially in Jakarta.
He said that many lawsuits have been filed against doctors for
alleged malpractice but only a few doctors have been found
guilty. Despite the new laws on health care, such cases are still
difficult to prove.
"Many health practitioners who have committed malpractice have
sought protection under the medical code of ethics," he said at a
seminar on the medical code of ethics and the law hosted by Atma
Jaya University.
Agus, chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian
Medical Association (IDI), said that many doctors have also
ordered unnecessary medical treatments to make money from
patients. He cited patients with minor ailments who were advised
to undergo numerous expensive medical tests, after which, he
said, they were prescribed relatively cheap medication.
Widespread suspected collusion between doctors and
pharmaceuticals in selling medicines to patients were not easy to
prove, Agus said. The overprescription of costly medications has
been partially blamed on such collusive practices, which have
only been countered by a government campaign promoting the use of
generic drugs.
Hermien Hadiwati Koeswadji, a professor of law at the
University of Airlangga in Surabaya, East Java, called on the
public to report suspected cases of malpractice or collusion
between health professionals and pharmaceuticals to the medical
association.
"Besides imposing administrative sanctions for breaching the
medical code of ethics, IDI should also be encouraged to help law
enforcers investigate doctors who commit white-collar crimes,"
she said, adding that the police, government prosecutors and
judges should also have the skills to investigate such cases.
Hermien also called on the general public, including the press
and consumer organizations, to be active in monitoring health
services.
K. Bertens of the Center of Ethics Development Studies at Atma
Jaya University, said all hospitals in the country should have
implemented standard medical services for all kinds of diseases
in order to minimize unnecessary costs and the possibilities of
malpractice. He also said that hospitals should be transparent in
providing health services to the public. (rms)