Ben Cao GanG Mu - NUSS

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Practitioner is Key
Undeniably, the practitioner plays a pivotal role in ensuring
that the ailment is diagnosed correctly and that the treatment
endorsed is appropriate. At this juncture, although TCM
training courses are aplenty in China, few of them are
accredited. To complicate matters, the training duration of the
practitioners vary from months to years.
The Risk of Allergy
As TCM usually involves the consumption of herbal medicine,
that are made up of a concoction of different elements within
the herb, it is hard for patients to ascertain the exact harm
that might result. In some mild instances, the patient would
experience allergy; in some severe cases, this could mean
poisoning. This necessitates consultation with a trained
person prior to dispensing medication.
Lack of Standardisation
Chinese herbal medication are often not standardised from
one pill to the next, or from one brand to the next, and
can be reformulated, remixed, or altered by any company.
Essentially, this means the same dosage for one brand may
be heavier compared to the other. Consequently, it makes
the effectiveness of Chinese medication unpredictable.
Regulating TCM
Due to nagging safety issues and incidents of herb abuse,
governments and health organisations are recognising
the need to regulate the industry. The Traditional Chinese
Medicine Practitioners Act passed on 14 November 2000
provides such a form of regulation for the industry.
The Act stated that practitioners of TCM must register with
the TCM Practitioners Board, and with effect from 2004,
registered practitioners must also possess valid practising
certificates. (For a listing of registered TCM practitioners, visit
www.tcmpb.gov.sg)
Along with recognition and the installation of proper
accreditation guidelines, the stature accorded to TCM
industry and the practitioners are now elevated. Having
a governing body and an accredited degree programme
ensure that the practitioners will have a uniform standard of
practice. Implicitly, this provides a platform for faster growth
and maturity of the industry.
That said, while regulations and accreditation provide the
launchpad, it is really the research discoveries and equipping
practitioners with the appropriate knowledge that will propel
the industry forward.
Currently, TCM training is provided at three different colleges
in Singapore, the Singapore College of Traditional Chinese
Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Studies and the
Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Although the degree offered in NTU is not a specialised
one, but a double degree in Bachelor of Science (Hons) in
Biomedical Sciences and Medicine (Chinese Medicine), it is
momentous to have a government affiliated university, offer a
TCM-related course. This signifies the acceptance of TCM.
With Singapore poised to be a biomedical hub and medical
tourism hotspot, the prospects of moving the industry one
step closer to being a reliable source of treatment worldwide
is slowly but surely manifesting.
Shifting Perceptions
This one small step is part of a paradigm shift of perceptions
in the medical industry. The Westernised world used to be
bounded by the limitations of technological advancements
and the speed of laboratory discoveries – a signature of
Western medicine. With the growing acceptance of TCM as
a legitimate treatment method, a rich plethora of possibilities
have been unearthed.
In its infancy, Singapore’s medical industry is looking at TCM
as complementary treatment. Judging from Hong Kong and
Taiwan’s medical industry, which are ahead of Singapore in its
adoption of TCM treatments, TCM is set to be fully integrated
with Western Medicine in the very near future.
Certainly, the future seems to be bright for TCM practitioners
as it evolves to encompass a more research-grounded
industry. Perhaps soon, a new reference will be coined in
place of ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’ to better represent it.