By Bloomberg
Some proposals include the use of traditional Chinese medicine for post-stroke rehabilitation and chemotherapy-induced side effects. (EPA Images pic)SINGAPORE: Singapore will gradually integrate more traditional Chinese medicine treatments into its public healthcare system during a testing initiative that will explore how such therapies will complement Western ones.The health ministry has received 18 proposals on treatments that can be adopted and a committee will evaluate the scientific robustness of each of them, health minister Ong Ye Kung said today.Some will be implemented in a 鈥渃ontrolled environment鈥 in the city鈥檚 public healthcare institutions for one to two years, he said, adding that the cost-effectiveness of each treatment will also be studied.鈥淥ur vision is not simply adding more TCM services to hospital settings, but to create a really integrated model where the strengths of both systems can be leveraged for optimal patient care,鈥 he said in a speech.鈥淭he goal is to study how TCM, when used alongside western medicine, may improve patient outcomes, or where patients may not be responding well to conventional treatments alone.鈥滱mong the proposals are the use of TCM for post-stroke rehabilitation, chemotherapy-induced side effects and palliative care, he said. Others explore the integration of Chinese and conventional treatments for gastrointestinal disorders and chronic pain, Ong said.The minister said countries such as the US and the UK have also become more receptive to integrating TCM as complementary therapy to mainstream treatments.China has 鈥渋ncorporated both TCM and western medicine in undergraduate and postgraduate training,鈥 Ong said.鈥淲hen I walked along the corridors of hospitals, medical schools and the National Health Commission in China, the language they use is evidence, data, research for TCM.鈥