Foreign Medical Doctors in Indonesia

Indonesia is a country with a large population and diverse health needs. However, the country faces a shortage of qualified medical specialists, especially in rural and remote areas. To address this issue, the government has proposed to allow foreign medical doctors to practice in Indonesia, under certain conditions and regulations. This essay will discuss the purpose, benefit, challenge, and counter benefit of this policy, considering the current health policy in Indonesia.

The purpose of inviting foreign medical doctors to practice in Indonesia is to improve the quality and accessibility of health services, especially for complex and rare cases that require specialized skills and knowledge. According to the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, the presence of foreign doctors can also create a healthy competition and stimulate the development of local doctors⁷. Moreover, the government hopes that by bringing in foreign doctors, it can reduce the number of Indonesians who seek medical treatment abroad, which can save foreign exchange and increase the domestic health expenditure⁸.

The benefit of allowing foreign medical doctors to practice in Indonesia is that it can potentially enhance the health outcomes and satisfaction of the patients, who can access more advanced and diverse medical services within the country. Foreign doctors can also contribute to the transfer of knowledge and technology to the local health workforce, through collaboration, training, and mentoring. Furthermore, foreign doctors can help fill the gap of medical specialists in certain fields and regions, where the local supply is insufficient or uneven⁹.

The challenge of implementing this policy is that it may face resistance and criticism from some stakeholders, especially the local medical associations and doctors, who may perceive it as a threat to their profession and autonomy. Some of the concerns raised by the opponents of this policy are the possible violation of the national sovereignty, the potential exploitation of the foreign doctors by the private hospitals, the lack of regulation and supervision of the foreign doctors’ quality and ethics, and the unfair competition and discrimination against the local doctors⁷. Therefore, the government needs to ensure that the policy is transparent, accountable, and participatory, and that it respects the rights and interests of all parties involved.

The counter benefit of this policy is that it may have some negative impacts on the local health system and workforce, if not managed properly. For instance, the policy may create a dependency on the foreign doctors and undermine the motivation and capacity of the local doctors to improve their skills and performance. It may also create a brain drain of the local doctors, who may choose to migrate to other countries or sectors, where they can get better opportunities and incentives. Additionally, the policy may widen the health inequity and disparity, if the foreign doctors are concentrated in the urban and affluent areas, while the rural and poor areas are neglected.

In conclusion, inviting foreign medical doctors to practice in Indonesia is a policy that has both pros and cons, depending on the perspective and situation of the stakeholders. The policy aims to address the shortage and imbalance of medical specialists in the country, and to improve the quality and accessibility of health services for the people. However, the policy also poses some challenges and risks, such as the resistance from the local doctors, the lack of regulation and supervision of the foreign doctors, and the possible negative impacts on the local health system and workforce. Therefore, the policy needs to be carefully designed, implemented, and evaluated, with the involvement and consultation of all relevant parties, and with the consideration of the current health policy in Indonesia.

Source:
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(5) WHO Indonesia – Publications on Health, Wellbeing, and Healthcare Policies. https://www.who.int/indonesia/news/publications.
(6) Welcome To Ministry of Health Republic Indonesia. https://www.kemkes.go.id/eng/home.
(7) Indonesia – Health Policy Plus. http://www.healthpolicyplus.com/indonesia.cfm.
(8) Health | The SMERU Research Institute. https://smeru.or.id/en/research-topics/health.
(9) Indonesia HEALTH SITUATION – World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/136896/ccsbrief_idn_en.pdf;sequence=1.
(10) https://bing.com/search?q=foreign+medical+doctors+in+Indonesia.
(11) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/136896/ccsbrief_idn_en.pdf.