Traditional Medicine in Public Hospitals
Once again, I’d like to highlight a post from Palmdoc in the Malaysian Medical Resources. This time, it’s about the Health Ministry’s plan to bring in Traditional Chinese Medicine to government hospitals. You HAVE to read this article. It’s MANDATORY reading for all. OK lah.. if you have any interest in healthcare, then you might like to read it.
My opinion is: i don’t think that anyone can prove or disprove a “system” of medicine. However, the practitioners of traditional chinese medicine should take it upon themselves to:
- demonstrate the scientific basis of the practice of herbology or acupuncture etc. Otherwise how can one claim that there is a “system” at all? Are all practitioners talking about the same thing when they mention a particular term?
- identify the actual components of herbs that are responsible for the action of the herb and identify the species that is actually used. Otherwise who would know whether “ginkgo” used here and “ginkgo” used there are one and the same type? What I am talking about here is “standardization”.
- prove that the materials and methods used have an effect above and beyond a placebo effect.
- organise themselves into a body to regulate themselves and their practice. I don’t buy the claim that, “It’s a family secret.” There should be transparency and accountability when people are expected submit themselves to practitioners for medical care.
No matter whether a “system” of medicine is efficacious or not, the consumer has a right to choose. The consumer, however, has the right to protection from ignorance (on the part of the practitioner, not the patient) and quackery.
well, it’s gonna be tough to have them explain the scientific basis of alternative medicine though, simply because it’s based on a totally different ’science’, one that modern medicine is not based on.
after all, “unblocking the chi” at a body part means little to us, at least according to the textbooks i used in medical school
LOL vagus, i can’t find that in mine either. The problem with these “chi”s or “meridiens” is there’s no way of defining it biologically. Or is there? At least demonstrate by some replicable method that intervention results in observable or measureable change. Frustrating, izzinit?
ok encik chan..ini obat…masak dengan 2 mangkuk air selama 3 jam..kemudian minum sesudu besar 4 kali sehari..jgn campur dengan obat olang putih..kesan sampingan termasuk bau busuk masa memasak , rasa pahit yg amat sangat , n kadang kadang muntah..ini ada gula gula..makan bersama obat tadi..terima kasih…
Wow eve how similar! Been to one before or have you been practising lately some traditional medication.
The question Bernard is actually the public’s mentality and possibly the physicians. Vagus is correct this is a different science. Does it work — sometimes I have to say it does!But like I mentioned before it is not an alternative but rather an adjunctive or complementary
Then you have the politicians — trying to do something different in their term thus they advocate Chinese Traditional treatment. Then next election if it is an Indian or a Malay, they would follow the trend and introduce Indian Traditional or Malay Traditional medications
There are many things in the health service for them to concentrate and improve but are our votes as important and significant as compared to the general public especially the in his case the chinese community. Merely because these politicians feel that the general public is still uninterested or uneducated when it involves health and education.
A “desperate” patient will resort to ANY type of treatment, as long as he ( or his loved ones ) thinks it “works”, even though it may only give temporary relief.
But you are right about patients ,as consumers, need to be intelligently informed as to the contents of the “obat” “masak dengan 2 mangkok air”
george : hahaha…can u believe , my mom achelli will force me to drink chinese medicine if i m sick?…despite me being a dr..haha..no la..but i wont drink it..simply becos i have PCM…and i dun know wat is inside the chinese med…and Drs are difficult patients , dun u agree?..
If it end up with problem, the patient sue the traditional practitioner or the hospital?
If the public hospital end up paying, doesn’t that means tax payer money?
ebe lokun, LOL. lu lagi pandai kasi obat horr? Satu latuih linggit ah? Tak pa… murah sajia.
George, thanks for insightful analysis! Gaining political mileage?!
I’m sure some herbs or the components in the herbs work. But what are they? How much is the correct dose? What type exactly? What combination? Only the sifu knows. No documentation. And no accountability…
Just me, if temporary relief is the aim of the treatment, clearly defined to the patient, then it has achieved something already. The problem arises when there is unrealistic expectations or dishonest claims.
yenjai, i guess the implications haven’t been explored yet…??? Do first, think later.
Bernard, build satay stall first, and apply for license later?
Hahahahhaha yenjai, if kena AGE, who’s responsible? The pakcik bakar sate or the Majlis?
btw, what are they doing about those so-called herbalists who prescribed herbs and more herbs for terminal illnesses?
nyonya, there’s nothing anyone can do. who’s to say whether the herbs work or what the aims of using the herbs are? except the prescribing herbalist, nobody can say whether the practice is correct or ethical…. the reason: there are no standards. there is no governing body to regulate themselves. no “peers” who will say whether a practice is “ethical” or otherwise.
“Caveat emptor”
Note: i’m sure that some herbs may help in palliating the patient’s symptoms in terminal disease… but how do we know whether those were given for those purposes and expressly told as such to the patient and the relatives. Make sure they have realistic expectations and let them decide whether they want to accept it. They have a choice of good palliation from other avenues to decide on.
We shouldn’t just write off the tradtional herbalists. What of tongkak ali and kacip fatima??!
LM, oh no… not write off. Just be more responsible in the use of the Eurycoma longifolia and Labisia pumila var. alata. Tongkat Ali has an anti-malarial component, still under study.
Have you tried them?
Actually ah Dr.. When I enter the Chinese Medical Hall..you think I want to ask the uncle uncle there..what is what medicine ah? I so skiat he give me the evil eye..then I pecut and cannot get well you know! It’s not as easy for the consumer to really understand what the heck each herbal ingredient and it’s “cures” are.
So..instead of being ignoramous..I just go to my local pharmacy..look like I know what I’m talking about and bark orders at the pharmacists to give me my usual antibiotics.
See la..how not to die from colonic cancer?????!!!!!!
mott, what a colourful story! :-)…
that’s the thing… “this mixture” is for such-and-such a problem. “that mixture” is for such-and-such diagnosis. What exactly is in there? Are there standards? Is it marked “contents:…”? What are the ingredients? There’s a lack of transparency.
err… why do you think that you’re at high risk of colonic cancer, i wonder?
I have seen Chinese Physician. With some, you get a prescription. It does say what are the exact herbs and dosage. They dont explain to you what each one does. I read up on my own. Is there a standard? I should think they would explain differently, in that they are treating the root cause rather than the common symptoms, based on an individual condition. Hence, the standard to me translate to “some guesswork” on dosage and herbs combo for each patient.
And they are those that does not have a prescription. You will never find out what you are taking. I do think we have to be somewhat more careful there! Then again, the quick-fix is hard to say no to. And then it become a matter of choice.
I do like the use of the word ‘complementary’. Its used and developed in ancient times and today should still be under going progressive research. Interestingly, TCM actually recommended western approach to haemorrhoidectomy to me.
I was able to see the benefits of western medicine and TCM having undergone treatment from both. I do believe in finding ourself one or several good Doctor(s) and overtime getting the best advise from them and enabling us to make the right decision for our own condition at the time.
milo, standardization does not mean specifiying the species and weight of the herbs from a specific practitioner. “standardization” should be on a more global scale.
Milo, TCM has another bigger problem.
They don’t have a fault reporting system.
If someone die from a certain herbs, no one is going to alert all other Chinese Physician of the problem.
Thus the herb will still get past on from generation to generation.
Dear yenjai,
What an imperfect world we all live in. If only we could report all their wrong doing to Tom Cruise in Minority Report and he could check on his time travelling TV screen if the herb is going to kill someone in the future, we could have him/her arrested today and the victim doesnt have to die. Sigh!
Hi Bernard,
Who would be rightfully responsible for standardization at a global scale?
Milo, i don’t mean global as in the whole world. I meant not just one practitioner.
BTW, LT attended the meeting with TCM practitioners in Kepala Batas and has written a post about it. Here.
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