COVID-19 Pandemic: Telemedicine Services based on Indonesian Prevailing Laws and Regulations

Telemedicine business service has been rapidly growing in Indonesia, especially after the spreading of COVID-19 in early 2020. However, there has always been debate on the ethicality and the accuracy of rendering complete diagnosis through remote consultation without direct physical examination.

We note that the Indonesian Government and Indonesian Medical Council/Konsil Kedokteran Indonesia (“KKI”) has recently provided the legal frameworks for the utilization of telemedicine services. It is indeed a positive move considering the high demand for health services, yet we are obligated to restrict physical interactions in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Legal Frameworks: Our below article refers to the following regulations:

  1. Minister of Health Regulation No. 20 of 2019 on The Organization of Telemedicine Services Through Health Service Facilities (“MoH Regulation 20/2019”); and
  2. KKI Regulation No. 74 of 2020 on Clinical Authorities and Medical Treatment Through Telemedicine during the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic (“KKI Regulation 74/2020”).

Main Keys on the Telemedicine Services based on Indonesia Prevailing Laws and Regulations: We provide the following main keys on the provision of telemedicine services based on Indonesian prevailing laws and regulations.

Scope of Telemedicine Services: We note that doctors and dentists are now allowed to provide telemedicine services through an application/electronic systems by taking the consideration of effective communication. Such telemedicine services can be done online through writing, voice, and/or video conference to provide accurate diagnosis and treat the patients (Art. 3 (1) and (3) of KKI Regulation 74/2020).

Requirement for Medical Personnel who Provides Telemedicine Services: We note that doctors and dentist who provides medical treatment through telemedicine services are obligated to have previously obtained: (a) Registration Letter/Surat Tanda Registrasi; and (b) practice permit/Surat Izin Praktik from the relevant healthcare facility. (Art. 2 of MoH Regulation 20/2019 jo. Art. 3 (4) of KKI Regulation 74/2020)

Registration of Telemedicine Services Provider: We note that any healthcare facilities that intend to provide telemedicine services must register itself to MoH prior to providing the service (Art.13 (1) of MoH Regulation 20/2019).

Requirements for Telemedicine Services Provider: The following are some requirements that should be fulfilled by the healthcare facilities to provide telemedicine services:

  1. Have competent organizers i.e. doctors and or dentists (including specialist and subspecialist), other related medical workers, including workers expertise in Information and Technology (IT);
  2. Have sufficient facilities and infrastructure to provide telemedicine services; and
  3. Utilizing a telemedicine application, either the one that is provided by the MoH or developed independently by the healthcare facility. Provided that the application is developed independently, such application should be registered to the MoH (Art. 8-12 of MoH Regulation 20/2019).

Doctor and Patient Obligation in Telemedicine Service: The following are obligations of doctors and the patients in telemedicine service:

Party

Remarks
Doctor and Dentist
  1. conduct a necessary examination to its patients based on their competence and authority; and
  2. Make sufficient medical records of its patients, either in handwritten record or through electronic means. (Art. 6 (1) and 7 (1) of KKI Regulation 74/2020)

In addition, doctors and dentists allowed to make diagnoses and conduct supporting examinations, prescribe drugs, and issue sick certificates. (Art. 8 (1) and (2) of KKI Regulation 74/2020)
Patient Provide general/informed consent (Art. 5 of KKI Regulation 74/2020).

Restriction of Telemedicine Services: The following are some restrictions applied to doctors and dentists in providing telemedicine services:

  1. Provide teleconsultation without involving any authorized healthcare facilities;
  2. Provide misleading, non-ethical, and inadequate information to patients and/or their families;
  3. Diagnose and treat patients exceeding their competence;
  4. Demand its patients to conduct irrelevant medical assessment;
  5. Conduct immoral, intimidating, and reprehensible actions to its patients;
  6. Perform invasive actions through teleconsultation;
  7. Impose additional fee, other than the rates set by the relevant healthcare facility; and
  8. Provide a Health Certificate/Surat Keterangan Sehat based on teleconsultation assessment. (Art. 9 of KKI Regulation 74/2020)

The article above was prepared by Marshall S. Situmorang (Partner) and Aniendita Rahmawati (Associate). 

Disclaimer: The information herein is of general nature and should not be treated as legal advice, nor shall it be relied upon by any party for any circumstance. Specific legal advice should be sought by interested parties to address their particular circumstances. For more information, please contact us at mail@nusantaralegal.com.