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.