Legal Certainty for Doctors in the Implementation of Emergency Surgery Without the Patient's Written Consent in the Hospital
Keywords:
Legal Certainty, Emergency Surgery, Informed Consent.Abstract
Health services are a form of fulfilling basic rights of the community that must be carried out professionally, safely, and responsibly. In the practice of medical services in hospitals, doctors are often faced with emergency conditions that require immediate medical action to save the patient's life or prevent more severe disability. In certain conditions, the patient is not conscious or unable to give consent to medical treatment, while the family or authorized guardian cannot be contacted within the required time. This situation creates a dilemma for doctors between the obligation to provide medical help as soon as possible and the legal obligation to obtain informed consent from patients or their families. Normatively, health law in Indonesia has provided an exception to the obligation to obtain approval for medical measures in an emergency. However, in practice there are still concerns among medical personnel about the possibility of lawsuits, whether civil, criminal, or administrative, after emergency surgery is performed without the patient's written consent. Public ignorance of the legal provisions regarding emergency medical measures and differences in interpretation of applicable regulations are often factors that trigger disputes between doctors, patients, and patients' families. Therefore, an in-depth study is needed on the extent to which existing regulations are able to provide legal protection and certainty for doctors in carrying out their professional duties. This study aims to analyze the legal arrangements regarding the implementation of emergency surgery without the written consent of the patient in the hospital and examine the form of legal certainty given to doctors in carrying out these actions. In addition, this study also seeks to identify various obstacles faced in the implementation of legal provisions related to emergency medical measures and formulate efforts that can be made to strengthen legal protection for doctors. With clear legal certainty, it is hoped that doctors can carry out their professional obligations optimally without fear of unwarranted legal risks, so that patient safety remains the top priority in health services.
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