No progress on medical body

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta

House of Representatives Commission VII for health and the government remain unable to solve a dispute over whether the medical council mandated in the bill on medical practices should work independently.

The bill stipulates that in a bid to protect patients from poor medical services and to improve local health services an Indonesian Medical Council (KKI) shall be formed. The council will report directly to the President.

While the Ministry of Health is demanding that the council fall under its supervision, the House insists that it should be an independent body.

"We do not say that the government shall have nothing to do with the council. It can supervise the council, but not control it," commission deputy chairman Ahmad Sanoesi Tambunan said on Wednesday.

Minister Achmad Sujudi, however, challenged the House's view.

"It is not easy to separate the council from the government as it deals with a lot of things, including registration," said Sujudi.

Article 6 of the bill stipulates that the medical council's duties include registering medical degrees, determining national standards of medical services and supervising and helping medical practitioners improve their level of competence.

Registration is a process that determines whether a doctor's decree is recognized by the government. Currently, the registration is conducted by a committee under the Ministry of Health.

The ministry recorded 57,708 medical practitioners last year, of whom 37,531 were general physicians, 11,000 specialists and 9,177 dentists.

"We have 3,000 fresh medical graduates every year. They need to register their degree, which is not an easy job," said Sujudi.

He insisted an independent body would have difficulty in helping medical graduates who could not obtain licenses because their degrees were not recognized by the government.

The minister said the council should remain under his ministry's supervision to prevent mismanagement in the registration process.

Former chairman of the Indonesia Doctors Association (IDI) Kartono Mohamad, however, agreed with the House, saying the council should work without influence from the health ministry in processing the registration and issuing licenses.

"The ministry doesn't want an independent council because it is reluctant to lose its power," said Kartono.

The concept of a medical council was first introduced in the United Kingdom. Although incorporating various professions, ranging from physicians to government officials, the council is independent.

Such an independent body also operates in Singapore and Malaysia, where medical councils in both countries are also independent.

The bill on medical practices stipulates that members of the council will consist of 25 persons, including 15 doctors, four staffers with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Education and two ordinary citizens.