Commentary: TCM’s role in Singapore’s healthcare continues to evolve, but will it lose its traditional roots?

Interdisciplinary MEDICINE: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS?

What does it imply when two different medical systems are integrated?

Integrative medicine aims to bring European medicine into balance with conventional, complement, and other therapies in order to create a more integrated healthcare system.

The expanded choice and ability to customize care to patients ‘ requirements and ideals, according to its supporters. Integrational medication may also facilitate better coordination between therapies and methods, which may lead to a reduced side effect. For example, using treatment or treatment to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.

Also, incorporating conventional treatments may provide alternative therapies for conditions that are not adequately addressed by European medicine alone. For instance, individuals with some serious problems like pain, nausea, and chronic fatigue syndrome have been observed to get relief through TCM.

Integration also provides some advantages to traditional medicine experts. For them, connectivity with conventional treatments may indicate an increase in the perceived legitimacy of their exercise, and moreover, no irrelevantly, an increase in the number of patients and income that they can get.

Perhaps so, some TCM practitioners are wary. Appreciation for the integrity of conventional medicine itself is what matters to them. Integration can lead to traditional practices being forced to alter or change their practices in order to fit into the dominant medical paradigm ( biomedicine ).

Numerous hospitals in Singapore now provide some form of included medicine. For instance, Sengkang’s General Hospital, National University Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital all present treatment service alongside the standard medical services.

Although it is true that Singaporeans may and frequently do access both traditional and TCM medical treatments, each branch of medicine has its own unique set of laws. This means experts seldom, if ever, positively collaborate with regard to the attention of a person. Traditional medicine is used by many people who eat it, often because they do n’t want to be shamed or criticized for being “backward,” but many people do not want to be embarrassed or criticized for it.

But with Healthier SG’s focus on planned maintenance planning, this may shift. Although how it will develop, it might lead to more effective discussion between TCM practitioners and regular health specialists.

Better communication between a family doctor and a TCM physician may help prevent potential adverse interactions between some natural remedies and medicine. People could have been exposed to unnecessary risks if they had previously refused to share or share how they used these herbs. However, these risks may be lessened more effectively with better cooperation across attention.