This article is a response to Sukman Tulus Putra's op-ed entitled "Polemic on the Omnibus Health Bill", which was published in Kompas daily, on 28 November 2022.
There are several issues that need to be criticized. First, that opinion piece states that one of the reasons for the rejection of the “Omnibus” Health Bill is because its preparation is not participatory and not transparent. None of the professional organizations as the stakeholders and the community are involved.
Is it true that stakeholders in the health sector have never been involved before? Apparently not.
Why did IDI not advocate and approach the factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) at that time?
The webinar of the Indonesian Doctors Association Communication Forum (Forkom IDI), which took place on 27 November 2022, revealed a statement by the Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin that in May 2022 his party had informed the general chairperson of the IDI executive board Adib Khumaidi about the need for this draft law. This was also reinforced by one of the sources in the webinar, Dr M Nasser, that indeed the chairperson of PB IDI had known about the existence of the bill since May 2022.
M Nasser actually questioned why the issue regarding the Omnibus Health Bill only emerged in August 2022 and was ignored. Why did IDI not advocate and approach the factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) at that time? What happened was that at the end of November the doctors took to the streets.
The origin of the draft law is unclear
Currently, a draft of the Omnibus Health Bill is circulating (in public). Its origin is unclear. It is this unofficial draft health bill that is being widely discussed and questioned by some parties.
Moreover, a number of stakeholders were invited to attend a public hearing (RDPU) by the legislative body of the DPR, which mentioned the existence of certain articles in the unofficial draft Omnibus Health Bill.
The Omnibus Health Bill was agreed and listed in the 2022 Prolegnas amendment on 21 September 2022 as a House-initiated bill. Chairman of the House's legislative body Supratman Andi Agtas stated that the legislative body does not yet have draft academic texts and the Omnibus Health Bill.
Also read:
> Draft ‘Omnibus’ Health Law Is Rejected
> Health Bill Controversy
Currently the process of preparing a new bill is at the stage of collecting public input via various RDPUs, which are precisely intended to obtain input from all stakeholders. From this stage it will go into the preparation of academic papers and, then, drafting the Omnibus Health Bill.
In this RDPU stage, IDI and various professional organizations were invited. Thus, it would be incorrect to say that professional organizations were not involved and were not given the opportunity to participate in the drafting of the Omnibus Health Bill.
Second, regarding the indication of attempts to remove recognition of IDI as the only medical-professional organization by referring to the role of an international-medical organization. It was stated in Sukman Tulus Putra's opinion that IDI is the only medical organization in Indonesia that has been recognized by the World Medical Association (WMA).
The real fact is that WMA accepts IDI as the sole representative of a doctor's organization from Indonesia because WMA only accepts one doctor's organization from one country.
Then, does the WMA have the authority to regulate professional organizations in Indonesia by recognizing that there can only be one medical professional organization? This is clearly illogical. WMA is a private organization that does not have binding authority to recognize only one professional organization in a country.
On its official website, WMA even realizes that there can be more than one doctor's organization in a country. So, there is a difference between the word “recognized” and “accepted” as a member, which must be one from each country. In this case, it is not appropriate to blur the meaning of admitting to reject the Omnibus Health Bill.
Also read:
> Revision of the Medical Practice Law; between Essence and Urgency
Third, regarding the doctor's registration certificate (STR). Sukman Tulus Putra said, in the United States, STR must be renewed every two years. In Malaysia and Singapore, STR is valid for only one year and in the Philippines for three years. The fact is not so. Apparently, Sukman Tulus Putra was confused about STR and license to practice.
The author communicated with doctors who practice in various countries and they explain that for a license to practice, it is true that nothing is valid for life, but generally STR is valid for life.
Doctor registration at the Malaysian Medical Council is only once (in a lifetime), but the practice license must be renewed every year. In Singapore STRs are valid for life, but licenses to practice must be renewed every two years. In Germany, a doctor's certificate is also considered an STR.
In the US, there is only a medical license that must be renewed every year, nothing else. Monitoring and maintaining the competence and skills of doctors are evaluated at the time of extending the license to practice.
Fixing the overlaps
Basically, the Omnibus Health Bill will fix various overlaps, disharmony and deficiencies in various laws in the fields of medicine and health.
The contents of the Omnibus Health Bill will not only concern professional organizations, but also other policy issues, such as hospitals, medicine and medical devices to mental health.
As good citizens, we hope that there is no need to rush to reject this health bill before reading the draft academic text and the Omnibus Health Bill, which is being prepared by the House’s legislative body. If later there are things that are not agreed upon or there are objections, there is still time to provide opinions and input.
Judillherry Justam, Deputy chairman of the advisory board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (2012-2015), observer of medical education and health services
This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.
