IDI Says Doctors Who Mock BPJS Patients on Social Media Face Sanctions

The Deputy Chairperson of the Central Board of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), Dr Wiweka, has said that doctors who made insulting comments on social media towards a BPJS Kesehatan patient who complained about waiting for an inpatient room could face ethical sanctions.

Wiweka said the case would be handled through the Medical Ethics Honorary Council (MKEK).

“There are sanctions that are light, moderate, severe, up to very severe. Certainly the sanctions are intended as guidance for the doctor’s profession, depending on the assessment of the ethics council,” Wiweka said, quoted by Detik, Wednesday (5/8).

She explained that before an ethics hearing, the doctor concerned would first be asked for an explanation during a clarification process.

The results of the ethics examination could categorise the violation as light, moderate, severe, or very severe.

The sanction imposed would then be adjusted according to the council’s assessment and aimed at guiding the doctor’s professional conduct.

“Once assessed, it then proceeds to an ethics examination to determine the extent of the wrongdoing,” she said.

IDI expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased. IDI also said it was paying serious attention to the alleged ethical violation committed by the doctor via social media.

Wiweka said health workers are indeed permitted to use social media, but it must be used for educational purposes, not to insult patients, promote themselves, or advertise particular products.

She expressed regret if the viral comments were indeed written by a doctor.

Wiweka stressed that every doctor is bound by the physician’s oath and the Indonesian Medical Code of Ethics, which govern how the profession must conduct itself, both when providing care and when interacting in public spaces.

“Certainly this doctor should not have done so, and we regret that one of our colleagues acted in this way. Because we are actually bound by the physician’s oath and the medical profession’s code of ethics,” she said.

The incident originated from a post by a patient on their Threads account, @yurizaltrich, on 22 July 2026.

In the post, the patient said they had waited eight hours without being given a room for treatment. They declined to name the hospital where they were being treated because they were registered through BPJS Kesehatan.

However, the patient’s post instead received many negative comments. Quite a few responded cynically or with a judgmental and demeaning tone.

Based on various pieces of information and findings by netizens, some of the unempathetic comments on the @yurizaltrich post were made by accounts belonging to health workers or doctors.

One of these accounts was @erudarahaadini, belonging to Elda Putri Rahardini, said to be a doctor at RSUP Dr Sardjito. She has since apologised and acknowledged that her comment was inappropriate.

By Saturday (1/8), the patient was reported to have died. The @yurizaltrich post immediately came under the spotlight.