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LEGAL PROTECTION FOR DOCTORS SUFFERING FROM
DISEASES AT WORK
Trini Handayani
Suryakancana University, Indonesia
trinihandayani@unsur.ac.id
PAPER INFO ABSTRACT
Received:
December 2021
Revised: January
2022
Approved:
January 2022
Background: PP 88 of 2019 on Occupational Health lists about
Occupational Diseases (PAK) is a disease that occurs as a result of work
results and or the environment around the workplace. Occupational Diseases
must have a direct relationship with exposure experienced by workers, must
be scientifically proven and use evidence methods based on evidence based
medicine.
Aim: As the title indicates, this research aimed to explore more about legal
protection for doctors who are infected during work.
Method: This is a qualitative or normative research method. Researchers
looked at cases of Occupational Diseases in Hospitals and how they were
linked to regulations regarding loss reimbursement.
Findings: There are cases of Occupational Diseases in Hospitals that until
now there has never been compensation as mandated by PP No. 15 of 2019,
there needs to be a mechanism in the enforcement of PAK diagnoses and
indemnity mechanisms.
KEYWORDS
Legal Protection, Doctors, Disease, Work
INTRODUCTION
PP 88 of 2019 on Occupational Health lists about Occupational Diseases (PAK) is a
disease that occurs as a result of work results and or the environment around the workplace.
While the implementation of Occupational Health includes efforts: 1) Prevent the occurrence
of disease; 2) Improve health; 3) Cure disease; and 4) Rehabilitation. Occupational Diseases
must have a direct relationship with exposure experienced by workers, must be scientifically
proven and use evidence methods based on evidence based medicine.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency in 2020, the projected population of
Indonesia is 268,583,016 people. While the number of workers as many as 140,218,352 people,
of these, who worked as many as 133,292,866 people.
According to the Indonesian Medical Council Data, as of January 22, 2021, the number of
doctors registered in total is 234,090 people, consisting of general practitioners, specialists,
dentists and specialist dentists. When proposed with the number of workers, doctors and
dentists by 0.18% to serve the community of 268 million. GPs number 151,500, specialist
doctors number 42,992 means each doctor serves an average of 1,380 residents. In fact, the
spread of doctors is uneven throughout the provinces in Indonesia, this number is quite
adequate according to world health organization (WHO) standards of 1 doctor serves 2,500
residents (Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, 2021). The problem of health services by doctor, in
addition to the spread of doctors is uneven, there are also some provinces whose terrain is quite
heavy, the area is wide and the population is spread, not collected in one region. For example,
the provinces of Papua.
Legal Protection for Doctors Suffering from Diseases at Work
452 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(4), Jan 2022
In order to carry out their duties, Doctors often meet with patients whether potentially
infectious diseases or not, with the Covid-19 pandemic, Doctors are required to be more careful
in patient services. There is an obligation to use Personal Protective Numbers (APD) level 1, 2
or 3 based on the level of risk patients face. In the use of PPE, doctors can not carelessly do
things that are commonly done such as eating drinking, urinating or large (Even if they want
to do this, detained until the completion of the use of PPE or finished the patient examination).
In Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 7 of 2019 on Occupational Diseases (PAK)
for workers diagnosed with occupational diseases by the doctor who treated them, will get a
Work Accident Guarantee (JKK) in the form of cash or Health insurance while in treatment. In
the annex of the Perpres, submitted classification of diseases types 1, 2, 3 and 4. Occupational
Diseases in the form of Covid-19 disease that infects doctors who are exposed, included in
classification number 1. Article 15 of Government Regulation No. 88 of 2019 is submitted
related to funding the implementation of occupational health sourced from the State Budget,
APBD, the community or other legitimate and non-binding sources.
Occupational Health and Safety (K3) is an effort to protect workers and others entering
the workplace against the dangers of K3. The goal of K3 is to prevent, reduce and even
eliminate the risk of disease and accidents due to work (KAK) and improve the health of
workers so that productivity increases. Law No. 36 of 2009 on Health said that occupational
health efforts are aimed at protecting workers to live healthy lives and free from health
problems and adverse effects due to their work. K3 is one of the service standards that is one
of the standards that affect the accreditation of hospitals (Ivana et al., 2014).
Every job always contains a potential risk of harm in the form of a work accident. The
magnitude of the potential for accidents and occupational diseases depends on the type of
production, technology used, materials used, spatial and environmental building and the quality
of management and implementing personnel (Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, 2021).
One of the workplaces that are at high risk is the Hospital, even the potential in the Hospital
for the transmission of infectious diseases to hospital officers (doctors, nurses, midwives, etc.),
patients and even visitors. Infectious diseases that have the potential to transmit quickly, such
as HIV / AIDS disease, Hepatitis B disease, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, Covid-19, etc. In
addition to the risk of contracting the disease, there are other dangers in the hospital, namely
explosions, fires, floods, accidents due to electricity, etc., in addition to radiation, exposure to
chemicals, anesthetic gases, psychic disorders and ergonomics. This condition of course causes
a sense of discomfort and safety for officers, patients and visitors, so there is a nosochomial
infection.
In addition, the potential risk of contracting disease from patients can also occur in non-
medical personnel, namely hygiene workers who are exposed to biological factors, chemicals
or cleaning drugs. The work of cleaning the hospital leaves the janitor exposed to dangers that
interfere with his health. The risk of slipping when mopping the floor, contact with harmful
chemicals, or exposure to biological hazards when cleaning laboratories or rooms containing
viruses or bacteria and the possibility of being pierced by sharp objects when managing sharp
waste such as syringes so that they can contract Hepatitis B and C or HIV/AIDS (Yuantari &
Nadia, 2018).
The National Safety Council report in 2008 found that hospital accidents were 41% greater
than in other industries. Cases that occur are impaled needles, sprains, back pain, scratches,
Legal Protection for Doctors Suffering from Diseases at Work
453 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(4), Jan 2022
burns and infectious diseases. In the United States, cases of needle stab wounds as many as
600,000 to 1,000,000 cases of needle stab wounds but as many as 60% are not reported. As
many as 5,000 health workers are infected with Hepatitis B and(Dwiari & Muliawan, 2019)
HIV.
PAK Risk Factors (Salawati, 2015)
1) Physical Group;
2) Chemical Group;
3) Infection Group;
4) Physiological groups; and
5) Mental Class
Potential Health Problems Experienced by Workers
1) Work Accidents
2) Occupational Diseases
3) Non-communicable diseases
4) Infectious Diseases
METHOD
This research method is qualitative or normative specific. The researcher analyzed cases
of Occupational Diseases in Hospitals linked to regulations related to reimbursement of losses.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
PAK diagnosis is enforced by (Salawati, 2015):
1) Determine clinical diagnoses with good anamnesis, diagnostic physical examination
and supporting examination;
2) Determining exposure to risk factors by anamnesis about work history carefully and
thoroughly, which is related to when first worked, how long, doing what, materials
used, information on the materials used, materials produced, types of hazards, the
amount of exposure, when symptoms began to arise, whether the occurrence is the same
as other workers, the use of PPE, how to do work, other work done, favorites and other
habits(Merokok, alcohol consumption);
3) Comparing the symptoms of the disease while working and in a state of not working,
whether the symptoms get worse when working and decrease if it rests, whether there
may be exposure outside the workplace;
4) Physical examination is carried out with a record if the symptoms are not specific can
be carried out supporting examinations in the form of laboratory examinations or
biomedical examinations, such as spirometry examination and pulmonary X-rays
(International Labour Organization standards, pneumoconiosis, audiometric
examination, examination of metabolite results in the blood and urine;
5) Examination or testing of the work environment or company hygiene data, it is
necessary to cooperate with the company's hygiene experts, evaluation of physical and
chemical factors based on existing data and direct introduction of the work system,
intensity and length of exposure;
Legal Protection for Doctors Suffering from Diseases at Work
454 Interdisciplinary Social Studies, 1(4), Jan 2022
6) Consult with other relevant expert doctors.
PAK prevention is done by applying five levels of disease prevention, namely: (Salawati,
2015)
1) Improved health (Health promotion);
2) Special protection(Specific protection);
3) Diagnosis (Detection) early to prevent complications;
4) Limiting the possibility of disability (Disability limitation);
5) Rehabilitation and placement of disabled employees in appropriate positions.
From the cases of occupational diseases, especially in this hospital, there has never been a
health worker who received compensation as mandated by Article 15 of Government
Regulation No. 88 of 2019 on Occupational Health. Health workers who are exposed to PAK
when treated at the Hospital, for those who are not BPJS participants still spend funds for
medical expenses. As for BPJS participants, the cost of hospital treatment is borne by BPJS but
no one has ever received compensation.
CONCLUSION
There are cases of Occupational Diseases in Hospitals that until now there has never been
compensation as mandated by PP No. 15 of 2019, there needs to be a mechanism in the
enforcement of PAK diagnoses and compensation mechanisms.
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Dwiari, Kadek Eni, & Muliawan, Partha. (2019). Faktor yang Berhubungan Dengan
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