Current Indonesian Regulatory Framework

Law No. 17 of 2023 — Health

Indonesia’s principal health legislation is now Law No. 17 of 2023 concerning Health.

It provides the overarching framework for:

• Medical and health-professional registration
• Professional competency
• Practice licensing
• Patient rights
• Healthcare-facility responsibilities
• Quality and safety standards
• Professional supervision and discipline

The law replaced and consolidated substantial parts of Indonesia’s earlier health and medical-practice legislation.

📜 Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024

Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024 implements Law No. 17 of 2023 and provides more detailed requirements concerning:

• Healthcare professionals
• Registration and practice licensing
• Healthcare facilities
• Clinical governance
• Quality assurance
• Patient safety
• Professional discipline

It is now one of the central regulations supporting Indonesia’s current health system.

📄 Ministry of Health Regulation No. 13 of 2025

This regulation governs the management and professional oversight of Indonesia’s health workforce.

It reinforces that medical services must be provided:

• Within the practitioner’s registered professional authority
• According to applicable professional and competency standards
• Following facility credentialling and clinical-privilege processes
• Through appropriately licensed healthcare facilities

Medical practitioners should not perform services outside their recognised competence or granted clinical authority except in narrowly defined circumstances.

📄 Ministry of Health Regulation No. 17 of 2024

This regulation updates Indonesia’s risk-based licensing standards for healthcare-sector businesses.

It covers standards applying to healthcare facilities, including:

• Hospitals
• Specialist clinics
• Primary clinics
• Private healthcare businesses
• Clinical premises providing medical and surgical services

A Klinik Utama, or specialist clinic, may provide specialist and subspecialist medical services. Its authorisation, staffing, equipment and permitted procedures must correspond with its approved licence and service classification.

🪪 Mandatory Requirements for Surgeons

📌 STR — Registration Certificate

The surgeon must hold an official:

Surat Tanda Registrasi — STR

An STR confirms that the practitioner is registered within Indonesia’s national health-professional system.

Under the post-2023 framework, STRs are generally issued on a lifetime basis, replacing the former general requirement for five-year STR renewal. However, an STR does not by itself prove that the doctor is currently authorised to practise at a particular hospital or clinic.

📌 SIP — Medical Practice Licence

The surgeon must also hold a valid:

Surat Izin Praktik — SIP

The SIP authorises the doctor to practise professionally at the relevant healthcare facility or location.

Patients should confirm that:

• The SIP is current
• The SIP relates to the facility where surgery will occur
• The surgeon’s recorded specialty matches the procedure being offered
• The surgeon is not merely visiting or operating informally at the premises

A valid STR without the appropriate SIP does not, by itself, establish legal authority to practise at that facility.

📌 Clinical Privileges

For hospital-based surgery, the doctor should have documented:

• Clinical appointment or assignment
• Credentialling approval
• Specific clinical privileges for the procedure

Clinical privileges establish which operations the doctor has been authorised to perform within that facility.

They should be based on:

• Specialist qualifications
• Training and procedural experience
• Current competence
• Professional history
• Available equipment and staffing
• The hospital’s approved service capability

Patients may ask the hospital to confirm that the named surgeon is credentialled and clinically privileged for the proposed operation.

📌 Continuing Professional Competency

Although STR registration is now generally lifelong, doctors must continue maintaining professional competency.

Indonesia uses professional-credit requirements, known as:

Satuan Kredit Profesi — SKP

SKP activity may include:

• Continuing education
• Clinical practice
• Professional development
• Academic learning
• Community or professional service

Evidence of sufficient professional development is relevant to continuing practice-licence requirements.

🏥 Hospital and Clinic Accreditation

📄 Ministry of Health Regulation No. 12 of 2020

Hospital Accreditation

Hospitals are subject to Indonesia’s national hospital-accreditation framework.

Accreditation examines areas including:

• Clinical governance
• Patient safety
• Infection prevention
• Medication management
• Anaesthesia and surgical services
• Emergency response
• Staff credentialling
• Medical records
• Quality monitoring
• Complaint management

Patients should request the hospital’s current accreditation status and confirm that the accreditation applies to the facility where the operation will actually occur.

📄 Ministry of Health Regulation No. 34 of 2022

Clinic Accreditation

Clinics, including private and specialist clinics, are subject to a separate national accreditation framework.

The regulation covers accreditation of:

• Clinics
• Independent medical practices
• Health laboratories
• Blood-transfusion units
• Other specified primary healthcare facilities

Patients should not assume that a polished cosmetic clinic, extensive social-media presence or association with a well-known surgeon proves that the clinic is licensed and accredited for surgical treatment.

💉 Anaesthesia and Surgical Support

For procedures involving general anaesthesia, deep sedation or significant surgical risk, patients should verify that:

• A qualified anaesthesiologist will personally assess and manage the anaesthetic
• The anaesthesiologist holds their own STR, SIP and facility privileges
• Pre-operative assessment is completed
• Appropriate monitoring is used throughout surgery
• A properly staffed recovery area is available
• Airway and resuscitation equipment is immediately accessible
• Emergency medicines and blood-management pathways are available
• There is a documented escalation or hospital-transfer process

The surgeon should not be represented as personally providing both the major operation and independent anaesthetic management.

📋 Informed Consent

Patients must receive understandable information before agreeing to surgery.

Proper informed consent should address:

• The exact procedure being proposed
• Who will perform each part of the operation
• Anaesthesia arrangements
• Expected benefits
• Material and procedure-specific risks
• Reasonable alternatives
• Recovery expectations
• Scarring
• Potential revision surgery
• Implant-related risks
• The possibility of an unsatisfactory aesthetic result
• Costs associated with complications or revision
• The patient’s right to refuse or withdraw consent before treatment

Consent should be treated as a communication process—not simply a form signed immediately before surgery. Indonesia’s established medical-consent regulation defines consent as approval provided by the patient or authorised representative after receiving an adequate explanation of the proposed medical action.

📁 Medical Records and Operative Documentation

Under Ministry of Health Regulation No. 24 of 2022, healthcare providers must maintain medical records in accordance with Indonesia’s current medical-record framework.

Patients should request appropriate documentation, including:

• Pre-operative assessment
• Surgeon’s consultation notes
• Anaesthetic assessment
• Signed consent forms
• Operative report
• Anaesthetic record
• Implant or medical-device details
• Prescribed medication
• Discharge summary
• Pathology results, where applicable
• Post-operative instructions
• Emergency and follow-up contact details

🧴 Implants and Medical Devices

Where breast implants, facial implants, tissue products or other medical devices are used, patients should receive:

• Manufacturer’s name
• Product name
• Implant size and specifications
• Batch, lot or serial number
• Implant stickers or device card
• Indonesian distribution or marketing-authorisation details
• Warranty information, where applicable

Medical devices distributed in Indonesia are subject to Ministry of Health medical-device marketing-authorisation requirements.

⚖️ Professional Discipline and Complaints

Indonesia’s current professional-disciplinary structure includes the:

Majelis Disiplin Profesi — MDP

The MDP supports enforcement of professional discipline for medical and health practitioners under the post-2023 framework. Procedures for professional-discipline enforcement are addressed by Ministry of Health Regulation No. 3 of 2025.

Before treatment, patients should be told:

• How to raise a concern with the provider
• Who is responsible for clinical complaints
• How complications are managed
• How medical records can be requested
• What external escalation pathways are available
• Whether revision treatment is clinically indicated
• Which costs are covered or excluded

🛡️ Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Verification Checklist

Use this checklist before committing to surgery in Bali.

✔️ Surgeon’s Identity and Qualification

• The full legal name of the operating surgeon is provided
• The surgeon holds the recognised Sp.BP-RE or Sp.BPRE qualification
• Any claimed consultant or subspecialist title is formally identified
• The qualification relates to the proposed procedure
• The surgeon—not a marketing representative—conducts the surgical consultation
• The surgeon explains their own experience with the procedure
• The surgeon performing the operation is named in the consent documents

✔️ Registration and Practice Licence

• The surgeon holds an official STR
• The surgeon holds a current SIP
• The SIP applies to the hospital or clinic where surgery will occur
• The surgeon’s registered specialty matches the service being advertised
• The surgeon has current clinical privileges for the specific procedure

✔️ Facility Licensing and Accreditation

• The legal name of the operating facility is disclosed
• The facility holds the appropriate Indonesian operating licence
• The hospital or clinic has current accreditation
• Accreditation applies to the actual operating location
• The facility is authorised to provide the required level of surgery
• The facility has a properly equipped operating theatre
• Sterilisation and infection-control systems are documented
• There is an accredited laboratory, pharmacy and diagnostic pathway

✔️ Anaesthesia and Emergency Safety

• A named anaesthesiologist is involved where required
• The anaesthesiologist holds an STR, SIP and clinical privileges
• Pre-operative blood tests and medical assessment are completed
• Relevant medical conditions and medications are reviewed
• Airway, resuscitation and emergency equipment are immediately available
• The facility has an appropriate post-anaesthetic recovery area
• A transfer agreement or emergency referral pathway is documented
• The destination hospital for emergencies is identified in advance

✔️ Consent and Treatment Planning

• The consultation is conducted directly with the operating surgeon
• Risks are explained specifically—not only described as “rare”
• Alternatives, including no surgery, are discussed
• Expected scarring is explained
• Recovery and activity restrictions are provided in writing
• The possibility of revision surgery is discussed
• Financial responsibility for complications is explained
• Consent documents are available in a language the patient understands
• The patient is given adequate time to consider the decision

✔️ Implant and Device Safety

• Implant brand and model are disclosed before surgery
• Indonesian medical-device authorisation can be confirmed
• Batch, lot and serial numbers will be recorded
• Implant stickers or device cards will be provided
• Warranty conditions are provided in writing
• The plan for future monitoring or replacement is explained

✔️ Post-Operative Care

• The surgeon’s follow-up schedule is provided
• A qualified clinician is available outside normal clinic hours
• Emergency warning signs are explained
• Wound-care instructions are supplied in writing
• The patient knows who will manage drains, sutures and dressings
• The provider explains what happens after the patient returns home
• Arrangements exist for communication with an Australian doctor if required
• The policy for complications, readmission and revision is documented

🚩 Warning Signs

Patients should exercise caution where:

• The operating surgeon is not identified before payment
• The only qualification displayed is “cosmetic surgeon” or “aesthetic doctor”
• Specialist letters are omitted from the doctor’s published name
• Credentials cannot be independently explained or verified
• A short-course certificate is presented as equivalent to surgical-specialist training
• Surgery is proposed without a direct consultation with the surgeon
• Major surgery is offered in premises without transparent surgical licensing
• General anaesthesia is offered without a named anaesthesiologist
• The clinic will not disclose its accreditation or operating licence
• Patients are pressured to pay quickly or accept limited-time discounts
• Risks, revision costs or complication arrangements are unclear
• The provider relies primarily on social-media popularity, testimonials or before-and-after photographs
• Medical records and implant details will not be provided
• The surgeon appears to perform an unusually broad range of unrelated procedures without explaining their specific training and experience

🛡️ Important Patient-Safety Principle

No single certificate, membership, overseas course, social-media following or hospital association proves that surgery is safe.

A responsible verification process examines:

The surgeon + the procedure + the clinical privileges + the anaesthetist + the operating facility + the emergency capability + the aftercare arrangements.

All of these elements must align before a provider should be considered appropriately verified.