The use of legal terms in legislation always reflects technological developments and the needs of the times. A fascinating example can be observed in Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health, which actively adopts the bound morpheme "tele-" to define various modern remote-based medical services.
Morphologically, "tele-" is a bound morpheme that cannot stand alone and must be attached to the base word that follows it. Based on the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI), this element means far or long-distance. So far, the public has been familiar with popular words such as telephone, television, telescope, and telecommunications, all of which refer to activities or tools that bridge physical distance.
In Indonesia's latest health regulation, the presence of this bound morpheme plays a crucial role. The government accommodates the digitalization of the medical sector by introducing new regulatory terms, such as telehealth, telemedicine, teleconsultation, tele-ECG, and teleradiology. This step confirms that medical service activities are no longer limited by geographical barriers.
The Health Law details the legal definitions of several of these terms specifically. In Article 1 paragraph 21, telehealth is defined as the provision and facilitation of health services, including information and self-care services, through digital communication technologies. Meanwhile, Article 1 paragraph 22 explains telemedicine more specifically, namely the provision of remote clinical services for patients.
Beyond these two main terms, supporting services such as teleradiology and tele-ECG are also regulated to accelerate diagnosis. Teleradiology enables the transmission of digital medical images for remote analysis, while tele-ECG facilitates the instant transmission of cardiac electrical activity data to specialists for the rapid management of cardiovascular cases.
The presence of vocabulary based on "tele-" in Indonesian positive law proves that language continues to adapt to scientific progress. Through the standardization of these terms, technology successfully reduces physical distance to provide convenience and efficiency in healthcare services for all levels of society.
