Telemedicine practice in Indonesia

The new Health Law provides legal certainty on the practice of telemedicine services offered directly between Health Service Facilities and the general public. This pivotal development empowers licensed medical practitioners, and health care professionals to seamlessly extend medical care and health consulting services directly to the general public through authorized Health Service Facilities.

The Health Law mandates that further detailed provisions pertaining to telemedicine services will be specified in implementing regulations of the Health Law.

Professional overseas graduates and foreign professionals

Previously, the regulations governing the practice of professional overseas graduates and foreign medical practitioners in Indonesia were insufficient. Furthermore, in practice, to pass the evaluations and obtain the necessary licence was a very long and hard process for them. The Health Law now introduces regulations on the eligibility for professional overseas graduates and foreign professionals to practice in Indonesia, providing key requirements and facilitating ease in their licensing process.

With these changes, the government intends to address the staffing shortages of medical professionals in Indonesia, improve the quality of health services, and reduce the high number of Indonesians seeking medical services abroad.

Other key changes

The Health Law also provides other key changes concerning health care funding, health care practice licensing, professional health care organizations and councils, product and substance restrictions, and updated criminal sanctions.

What's next?

The Health Law revokes and supersedes 11 regulations, which are, among others, the law on Hospitals, Medical Practice, Health Workers, Nursing, and Medical Education. The promulgation of the Health Law also means the introduction of implementing regulations which encompasses government regulations, presidential regulations, and the Minister of Health regulations.

The government intends to accelerate this process in order to support the health care system and to boost the effectiveness of the new law. It is likely however that the Health Law will be challenged by medical practitioners or relevant stakeholders at the Constitutional Court.