Doctor Placement’s Policy and Its Implications in Indonesia: Legal Qualitative Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Remote, Underdeveloped Areas, Frontiers, and Islands (RUAFI) in Indonesia have a less equal distribution of doctors compared to other more developed areas, causing a decline in healthcare service quality in RUAFI and the health degree of the overall population. AIM: This research aims to describe the policy and the implication of doctor distribution in Indonesia and to provide a proportional justice-based doctor distribution policy concept. METHODS: This is a mixed qualitative research of juridical-normative and literature review. The laws that regulate the distribution of doctors in Indonesia are the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 36 of 2009, Law No. 26 of 2014, Governmental Decree No. 67 of 2019, Presidential Decree No. 72 of 2012, and the Decree of the Minister of Health No. 16 of 2017. RESULTS: The unequal doctor distribution is mainly caused by the low motivation for recruitment and retention in RUAFI. The affecting factors include disparity of incentives between doctors, low regional government involvement in the healthcare system in RUAFI, and the lack of career development for doctors being placed in RUAFI. CONCLUSION: The concept of proportional justicebased policy proposed is as follows: (a) Intensive proportionality between doctors and other types of health workers, (b) a direct regional government function of control, and (c) providing career and educational prospects.