Last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his unhappiness
that so many Indonesians decided to go abroad for medical treatments.
Immediately, critics had a field day, pointing out that his wife had just
recently returned from the United States after undergoing treatment for a nerve
problem in her neck.
Later, it was also revealed that
the president himself went to Kuala Lumpur for a medical checkup, with the
website of the hospital claiming that the president was a regular customer.
Thus, rather than telling people
not to go abroad and then risking personal embarrassment from such expose,
maybe it was better for the president to actually investigate why people
decided to go abroad for their medical treatments.
It is doubtful that the quality
of Indonesia’s practitioners is an issue here. While there are obviously some
bad apples, bad doctors who performed terribly, a lot of Indonesian doctors are
competent, well versed in their skills, with many top-of-the line hospitals
being built with modern facilities rivaling hospitals in Singapore and
Malaysia.
At the same time, however, the
notorious case of Prita Mulyasari came to mind. Dissatisfied with her treatment
in Omni International Hospital, Prita vented her anger in an e-mail sent to
several of her friends. Unbeknownst to her, the e-mail went viral, and soon her
complaints were widely read.
The Omni International Hospital,
however, instead of contacting her and trying to settle her complaints, decided
to sue her for defamation, with the Tangerang prosecutor’s office deciding to
indict her by using the controversial Electronic Transaction and Information
Law (ITE). It was later alleged that officials in the Tangerang prosecutor’s
office were offered free medical checkups there.
All these factors fueled much
public outrage toward what they saw as cronyism and injustice, which in turn
heavily undermined the public’s trust in Indonesian hospitals. Did the
hospitals really have the interests of the patients in mind? Or were they just
money-seeking corporations, more interested in ripping off the patients than
curing them?
Moreover, the botched handling of
the Prita case further convinced the public that it would be impossible to win
any malpractice case should it be brought to the court system, unless the
plaintiff has either a very deep pocket or is politically powerful enough to
force the wheels of justice to turn.
In contrast, if one wishes to
know why especially Singapore became a magnet for medical tourism, one need not
look farther than the case of Susan Lim.
Last year, the Singapore Medical
Council, having received complaints from her former patient, a member of
Brunei’s royal family, began an investigation into whether Lim had improperly
charged $24.8 million for seven months of treatment.
Of course, it can be argued that
these two cases are different, that the treatment is always different between
the rich and the poor. Laws would be bent for rich people like the Brunei royal
family, while the poor like Prita Mulyasari would receive the short end of the
stick.
Still, given Singapore’s reputation
as the top destination for medical tourism, it would seem more expedient for
Singapore to settle this outside of the courts, away from the glare of the
press, to the terms beneficial for the Brunei royal family, simply to keep them
quiet and to maintain Singapore’s rich clientele.
Yet, Singapore chose the most
transparent way, through the Medical Council system, even allowing Lim the
chance to challenge the Council through the court system, thus ensuring
transparency and fairness.
While the investigation is still
ongoing and thus it could not be determined for sure whether Lim was guilty or
not, the take-home message is clear: Singapore has a strong legal system that
protects patients’ rights. Patients’ complaints are taken seriously, with
enough transparency that patients can be assured that the hospitals are not
going to rip them off.
Yudhoyono could have the best
interest of the nation in mind when he deplored what he saw as unnecessary
medical tourism abroad.
Yet, it would be more beneficial for
Indonesia’s struggling medical system if he used more political capital to
strengthen the rule of law and ensured that patients’ rights are not violated
and that hospitals are honest and transparent in dealing with patients.
Yohanes Sulaiman
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment