As a medical doctor, I was approached by a family member one day who came as a
patient to me. He was diagnosed with minor stroke and he asked me if Traditional
Chinese Medicine(TCM) could cure him of his disease. I was skeptical at first, but I
do not understand enough of TCM to tell him no. As a healthcare provider, my job is
to provide the best available options to the patients and helping them understand the
options and risks. So, I decided to find out more by doing my own researches and
Integrative Medicine is what I have learned.
Integrative Medicine is a collaborative approach to healthcare treatments of both modern medicine and complementary medicine with the aim of Complimentary Medicine(T&CM) has 7 practice areas recognised under T&CM Act that combines effective bringing a more holistic approach into treating a patient. In Malaysia, Traditional and 2016 included, i.e. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Malay Medicine, Traditional Indian Medicine, Islamic Medicine, Homeopathy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy.
Many hospitals in Malaysia now have integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) in their practices. What can TCM offer into the modern medicine world? Acupuncture is used to help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Myofascial therapy is done to help release the tension over surgical scar. TCM post stroke rehabilitation in addition to conventional physiotherapy to fasten the recovery process. Acupuncture-assisted anaesthesia in thyroidectomy conducted in Ipoh General Hospital, Malaysia.
All the above mentioned do sound very promising but do we have to worry about
herb-drug interactions? If you are seeking treatment and medication from both ends,
what are the possibility of drugs interaction? How serious can they be? In order to
answer that question, it will take a few pages long of explanation regarding drug and
herb pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. So will herb-drug
interactions occur? Yes, it can happen even though not something frequent. The
consequences could either be something of very minimal effect or it could be
detrimental to your health as well.
If you are keen to seek treatment from both modern and traditional medicine, first of
all, is to make sure that you are seeking the right person for your problem. Ensure
your TCM practitioner is registered and certified. Understand your purpose of seeking
treatment and have a consensus with your healthcare provider of your treatment aim
and plan. Ensure both parties are aware that you are seeking treatment simultaneously
or even better get a referral to T&CM within the same hospital setting if available.
As a western medicine practitioner, I strongly believe in evidence based medicine. I
do not believe that traditional medicine itself is the solution to cancer or any other
diseases but using TCM as an adjunct to complement modern medicine is something I
find interesting and worth venturing into as modern medicine itself is imperfect in
many ways.
I am hopeful and eager to see how much more TCM can be integrated into modern medicine setting to provide a better standard of care for patients. Will TCM be integrated into the modern medicine world so much that one day medical doctors will have to learn TCM in medical school? Perhaps a medical physician will all regularly practice acupuncture for pain relieve instead of prescribing paracetamol ? Maybe, we will never know,
I would like to thank Dr Lim Ren Jye (a medical physician trained in both modern
medicine and TCM with a special interest in Integrative Oncology) for his effort in
helping me understand the world of Integrative Medicine.
Comments