Indonesia predicts flood of foreign doctors

JAKARTA (JP): When Indonesia enters the ASEAN Free Trade Area in five years, foreign doctors will stream into Indonesia, bringing with them their materialistic way of life.

The early warning was made yesterday by Azrul Azwar, head of the Indonesian Medical Association, while addressing hundreds of medical experts at his organization's national congress.

Azrul said foreign doctors will change medical care "philosophy" in Indonesia, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which also includes Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.

Azrul, who also chairs the International Medical Association, said the presence of foreign doctors will have both negative and positive impact on health care in Indonesia.

He said he worries that the doctors' main motive will be making money rather than helping Indonesia improve its health care. He doubts that foreign doctors will be willing to serve in remote areas where the need for medical care is great, but the pay is low.

"Their motives will undoubtedly change the health care philosophy. Hospitals may lose social spirit and money will become the main consideration," he said.

Azrul also said that Indonesia needs more medical specialists, and foreign doctors may be poised to fill the positions.

New private hospitals already have difficulty finding medical specialists who are willing to work part time with them.

"If the problem persists, the hospitals will certainly have to hire foreign specialists to fill the positions," Azrul said.

"We should raise the number of medical specialist graduates," Azrul said, adding that the current government policy which limits the number of specialist graduates is no longer relevant.

Furthermore, he said, the government should open new medical specialist programs and improve the quality of existing programs by strengthening their curriculum.

Each year only 744 seats in universities across Indonesia are reserved for doctors who want to become specialists.

In addition, Azrul suggested that all foreign doctors who intend to practice in Indonesia should pass an aptitude test and Indonesian language exam.

Foreign doctors should also graduate from accredited universities, belong to a professional association, and never break the laws and medical code of ethics in their home country, he said.

"There should be no rule discriminating between Indonesian and foreign doctors in the future. Foreign doctors should also comply with Indonesian medical ethic code, follow adaptation and mandatory practice programs and acquire working permit," Azrul said.

Another speaker in the congress, Nico A. Lumenta, Secretary- General of the Indonesian Hospital Association, pointed out that Indonesia cannot limit the number of foreign doctors by imposing barriers.

"We should also look at the presence of foreign doctors as something positive because they will contribute to the improvement of health service and its human resources," Nico said. (ste)