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Health minister, doctors association make truce in public interest
IDI chairman Daeng Muhammad Faqih said the controversy should have been closed, noting the need for collaboration to solve the many problems in the country's health service.
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Terawan Agus Putranto attends a press conference on his ethical violation case. Terawan has been appointed health minister. (Kompas.com/File)
T
he Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto have agreed to work together for the public benefit despite controversies surrounding the appointment of the former military doctor as a member of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Cabinet.
The appointment of Terawan as the new health minister has sparked controversy following the circulation on social media of a document from the IDI ethics council regarding his disciplinary record.
The document, dated Sept. 30, three weeks prior to Jokowi's new Cabinet announcement, was made in response to an article published in a news outlet containing six potential names for the health minister post, which included Terawan, a former director of Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) and a presidential doctor during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration.
"If allowed, we would like to recommend that from the potential names, Bapak President would not appoint Terawan Agus Putranto as the health minister. The reason behind our recommendation is because Terawan is currently undergoing sanctions for breaching medical ethics," according to the letter, signed by ethics council head, Broto Warsito.
The ethics violation was related to Terawan's “brain-cleaning” method, which he had been promoting as the most effective treatment for stroke patients. The case attracted public attention and sparked debate among health professionals in early 2018 after the IDI ethics council suggested that Terawan had violated the IDI’s code of ethics by adopting and promoting a method of therapy that had not yet been clinically proven to be safe and effective in treating patients.
The ethics council then slapped Terawan with a one-year IDI membership suspension and termination of his medical practice permit recommendation, which according to ethics council deputy chairman Pukovisa Prawiroharjo was still in force.
Pukovisa, however, declined to disclose the timeline of the sanctions, stating the issue "was supposed to be an internal affair" and not for public knowledge.
