Govt agrees on medical council
Govt agrees on medical council
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta
The House's health commission made some progress in its
deliberation of the medical practice bill on Monday by approving
a role for the medical council in registering general
practitioners and dentists.
Mariani Reksoprodjo, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health,
said the House legislators initially proposed that the council
register medical workers.
"However, all finally agreed that the definition of medical
workers would also cover general practitioners and dentists," she
said.
The government had previously opposed this. Currently,
registration is carried out by the health ministry, which is also
authorized to issue practice licenses for newly qualified
doctors.
The House initiated bill also gives the council the authority
to set professional standards for doctors/dentists, formulate
policy directions for medical science, and conduct supervision
over medical practices.
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi insisted that the job of
setting educational standards for doctors and dentists be given
to their respective professional associations.
The task of formulating policy directions could be managed by
the ministry's science and technology commission.
Meanwhile, Sujudi said the task of supervising medical
practices should be reserved to the professional organizations.
The government originally proposed limiting the role of the
medical council to only providing advice to the government on
policies related to the practice of medicine.
It was also prepared to allow the medical council to
synchronize regulations so as to improve the quality of the
country's health service.
Last week, however, the country's medical associations and
legislators demanded that the medical council be established as
an independent body in order to protect the public interest.
"This is in line with the bill on the principles of medical
practice, which are to protect the people, to provide guidelines
for doctors and to strengthen medical institutions and
associations," Indonesian Doctors Association chairman Farid
Anfasa Moeloek told a hearing with House members.