| Summary: | Background: Decentralization is an effort for ensuring efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of governmental action, through the application of good governance principles. For implementing this policy it must be followed by public reformation involving institutional reform. The institutional reforms focus on governmental function as one component that forms good governance. This function includes financing, delivery and regulation. In health laboratory service setting, decentralization has impact on the change of Provincial Health Laboratory structure. Decentralization also creates bigger disparity between wealth and poor provinces.
Objective: Knowing the impact of decentralization policy on Provincial Health Laboratory function.
Methods: This research is quasi-experimental research with one group pre and posttest design. Data was taken from documental study and questionnaire that was posted to 26 Provincial Health Laboratories combine with in depth interview result to six Head of Provincial Health Laboratories.
Result: This research showed that after decentralization the function of District Health Laboratory did not change. The main function is limited to service delivery, although the implementation of this function did not work well, due to many obstacles for carrying out this function. The important obstacles are: limitation of finance, tight competition from private laboratory service and District Health Laboratory capacity. Other function such as regulation and financial function have not been implemented.
Conclusion: Decentralization creates institutional confusion to Provincial Health Laboratory for deciding their role or function. There are many explanations to solve the problem, such as build relation with private sector (public-private mix), create a new financial system and change the role or function to regulator in provinces where there are many private laboratory exist.
Keywords: decentralization, Provincial Health Laboratory Function
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