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Medical associations to file subpoena for Health Minister over new radiology regulation
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Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto attends a working meeting with the House of Representatives Commission IX at the legislative complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on February 03, 2020. The meeting discussed the prevention and treatment of the coronavirus in Indonesia and the efforts to protect the health of Indonesian citizens residing in China and other countries. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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coalition of medical associations is planning to file a judicial review and issue a subpoena to Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto over a recently issued ministerial regulation on clinical radiology, which the group has deemed “an abuse of power”.
The regulation, issued earlier this month, requires health facilities providing services involving radiation instruments -- from community health centers to clinics and hospitals -- to employ radiologists.
“The regulation is an abuse of power, considering that Minister Terawan is a radiologist himself, and many doctors and dentists say he is prioritizing fellow radiologists over others,” coalition lawyer Muhammad Luthfie Hakim said in a written statement on Tuesday.
Read also: Terawan in hot water again, this time over radiology services
Muhammad said he and a team of nine other lawyers had studied the regulation and found it “full of discrepancies” and that it contradicted existing laws. He also said the team would soon file a subpoena for the minister.
“If the minister does not answer the subpoena, then we will proceed with the judicial review request to the Supreme Court demanding the ministerial regulation be revoked,” he added.
Terawan, who is also the head the Indonesian Radiology Specialists Association (PDSRI), has come under a barrage of criticism for issuing the regulation, which many doctors say could have negative impacts on prompt treatment of patients.
In an open letter sent earlier this month, 64 of 76 specialist doctor organizations and medical specialist academy councils urged Terawan to revoke the regulation.
