Independent medical council formed

Independent medical council formed

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Hopes are high that patients will now receive a satisfactory
response to malpractice complaints, as an independent medical
council has been established to address such charges.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched on Friday the
Indonesian Medical Council (KKI), which has been set up to
protect patients and improve the country's medical services.

Previously, complaints of improper practice by health
professionals were usually handled by the Ministry of Health or
the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).

If a case was related to a medical procedure, it was addressed
by the IDI or the Indonesian Dentists Association (PDGI).

However, the two organizations rarely imposed sanctions on
members who had been accused of malpractice.

Reports of injurious, negligent or improper practice have been
common -- particularly in the country's major cities -- but few
physicians or dentists have been brought to justice for
malpractice.

The new council is directly under the supervision of and
responsible to the President. Its establishment is mandated by
Law No. 29/2004 on medical practice, which came into force last
October.

Under Article 66 of the law, a patient can file a complaint
over improper medical practice with the Indonesian Medical
Disciplinary Committee to be established by the council.

The committee will consist of eight physicians and dentists as
well as three legal experts.

It will deal with cases involving medical disciplinary
offenses. In doing so, its members will assess whether a measure
taken by a doctor or dentist was a dereliction from their
professional duty or acceptable in the eyes of the committee.

"But not all (failures by health professionals) are against
the law," council member and former health minister Farid Anfasa
Moeloek said.

He added that the medical council was allowed to revoke the
practice permits of doctors or dentists based on recommendations
from the committee.

Farid said the law authorizes the council to establish
standards for medical education, services and ethics as well as
for the qualifications of doctors and dentists.

"The council is tasked with upholding ethics, discipline and
the law," he said.

According to Article 7 of the law, the council has three
duties: to register doctors and dentists, set up standards of
medical education and supervise medical practices.

The council is also mandated to register all doctors and
dentists and issue or revoke their working permits. That task was
previously handled by the Ministry of Health.

Farid said the new medical council was established to protect
and provide legal certainty for patients, doctors and dentists.

The council is made up of 17 physicians and dentists as well
as three others -- former Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI)
chairperson Tini Hadad, senior journalist Parni Hadi and public
figure Adriyati Rafli.

The council members were installed by President Susilo during
Friday's ceremony.

Commenting on the new council, Minister of Health Siti
Fadlilah Supari said she had no idea whether it would be
effective in carrying out its jobs or not.

"I don't know. It's a new thing for us. But let's hope it will
be effective," she said after the inauguration at the State
Palace.

Siti said the medical council was an independent body and her
ministry could not intervene in the design of its politics.