Indonesia needs law on medical malpractice
Indonesia needs law on medical malpractice
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman and prominent
physician Kartono Mohamad stood firmly behind their campaign on
Saturday to seek a new law to help cope with the growing problem
of medical malpractice.
In the seminar Kartono and Oetojo shared the opinion that such
a law would help minimize cases of malpractice which are
currently difficult to resolve due to the absence of legal
precedent.
Oetojo, who opened the one-day seminar, said the right to
receive sound medical services was a basic right of every
citizen.
"As part of our basic social rights, medical services must be
protected by law... This is where the relationship between
medical and legal services becomes relevant," he said.
Kartono, a senior executive of the Indonesian Medical
Association (IDI) said a solution to malpractice was especially
difficult in private hospitals where the employment status of
doctors is not always clearly defined.
"The increasing awareness of the public about their right to
high-quality, responsible service is reflected in the increasing
number of complaints about malpractice," he said.
The seminar on doctor-hospital relations was held to
commemorate Pondok Indah Hospital's eighth anniversary. The well-
equipped hospital in the posh housing complex area is largely
regarded as an alternative to overseas treatment for those who
can afford it.
Kartono pointed out that regulations were also needed to
prevent private hospitals from merely seeking profit and
neglecting their social obligations.
Many social foundations, which by law should be non-profit,
are currently used by many as a means to establish profit-
oriented private hospitals.
In such hospitals, he said, doctors -- almost all of whom are
civil servants -- work on either a full-time or part-time basis
with no clear guidelines as to how much responsibility they have
to bear as a consequence of their practices.
"Regulations should be made to clarify whether it is the
doctor, the hospital, the foundation or even the patient who is
responsible for malpractice," Kartono said.
Scapegoat
J. Guwandi of the Indonesian Association of Medical Law said
each case of malpractice must be objectively assessed and should
not be used for the sake of finding a scapegoat.
According to Guwandi, one must look at possibilities of
negligence, ignorance or whether it was a medical accident
stemming from an inherently risky case.
He felt, however, that medical law should be dealt with on a
case-by-case basis and should not be generalized.
"There are many factors involved," he said, "such as
complications, the patient's age and endurance and the doctor's
professional ability and diagnosis".
Chairman of the Indonesian Hospital Association Samsi
Jacobalis said private hospitals had no choice but to be profit-
oriented in order to ensure their survival.
"Private hospitals must balance their rates for the wealthier
and poorer patients... This is a form of the hospital's social
function," he said.
The ministry of health requires all hospitals to allocate at
least 25 percent of their beds to poor people, who are entitled
to free medical services. Many hospitals, he said, in fact
allocated more than this share.
He added, however, many of these beds, especially in the more
luxurious hospitals, were unoccupied because poor people were
reluctant to enter such places. (pwn/anr)