Integrating Islamic Law Principles and National Law for the Protection of Patients’ Rights in Public Healthcare Services in Indonesia

Abstract

Patients’ rights are essential for ensuring quality healthcare services. However, the recognition of these rights in law does not always ensure their effective implementation. In Indonesia, challenges include inadequate communication, the treatment of informed consent as an administrative formality, risks to the confidentiality of health data, discriminatory treatment, and uncertainty regarding the halal status of pharmaceutical products. This study examines how national law and Islamic law can complement each other to strengthen the protection of patients’ rights and develop practical policy recommendations. It employs a normative juridical approach, combining statutory, conceptual, and comparative analyses with a literature review and interviews with three experts in health law and Islamic law. The findings show that both legal frameworks share similar objectives in protecting patient safety, dignity, and interests, although challenges remain in communication, data protection, supervision, and complaint handling. This study proposes an integrative policy model in which national law provides the binding legal foundation, while maqasid al-sharia provides ethical guidance. The model covers six areas: defining the boundaries of legal integration, applying Islamic ethical principles in healthcare, strengthening informed consent, protecting health data and confidentiality, promoting justice and non-discrimination, and improving accountability and dispute resolution. These measures can be implemented through existing laws, professional standards, and institutional procedures to strengthen the protection of patients’ rights without creating a separate religious regulatory framework.