The Limits Access of Medical Records in Indonesia and a Broader Propose to Support Patients in Malpractice Claims

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to describe the deficiency of the regulations governing medical records access in Indonesia as well as its impacts on proofing malpractice claims and propose a broader scope of the access from the personal data privacy rights perspective.
 
 Methods: It uses a normative legal approach to analyse qualitatively the Indonesian Health Laws regarding access of medical records, related case law on malpractice, and existing literature on personal data privacy rights.
 
 Result: The result shows that the Indonesian Health Law limits access to data in medical records, namely only the right to request a medical data resume. The research also found that in five malpractice cases, the lack of access to medical records hindered patients’ ability to present evidence.
 
 Conclusion: It concludes that limited access to medical records leaves patients vulnerable to abuse, including the alteration of their data and difficulties in proving malpractice. The research contribute a proposal to granting patients greater access to their medical records to view and control their data at any time to ensure its authenticity, and to present it as a strong evident in malpractice’ claims.