The Legal Relationship Between Patients and Healthcare Facilities: an Analysis of the Referral System, Standard Operating Procedures, and Agreements Under the 2023 Health Act
Keywords:
patient-facility legal relationship, health referral system, standard operating procedures, healthcare agreement, health law of 2023Abstract
Healthcare is a fundamental human need, the fulfillment of which is guaranteed by the Health Law of 2023. This paper analyzes the national healthcare delivery system with a focus on the legal relationship between the patient and the healthcare facility, rather than solely with individual medical personnel. The discussion covers five forms of health efforts (promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative), the vertical, horizontal, and back-referral systems supported by integrated information technology, and standard operating procedures as guidelines for legal relations. The results of the analysis indicate that the legal relationship between the patient and the healthcare facility arises from an agreement that meets the four valid requirements of a contract according to the Indonesian Civil Code (KUH Perdata), namely competent legal subjects, consent regarding a specific matter, an object that does not contravene the law, and an agreement that refers to service standards and standard operating procedures. Consequently, the patient is no longer a passive object receiving services, but a legal subject with rights and a status equal to that of the healthcare facility.
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