MOH Studying 18 Proposals to Have TCM as Part of Public Healthcare

Use of Chinese medicine and acupuncture among the ideas under sandbox initiative

- Ang Qing

The use of acupuncture to treat migraines and for post-stroke rehabilitation and cancer-related care could soon be integrated into the national healthcare system under a sandbox initiative.

These are among 18 proposals for evidence-based traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments that the authorities are evaluating under a TCM sandbox initiative, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on July 6.

The other TCM treatments that the three healthcare clusters here have proposed for the sandbox include the use of Chinese medicine for treating gastrointestinal disorders and chronic pain, alongside conventional treatments.

If implemented in public clinics and hospitals, the treatments could become eligible for subsidies and MediSave coverage, which today apply to two TCM treatments: the use of acupuncture for lower back and neck pain.

Speaking at a forum on the use of evidence-based TCM in Western medicine practice, Mr Ong said the latest move follows from his announcement in October 2024 that the Ministry of Health (MOH) was evaluating the efficacy of other TCM therapies beyond those two treatments.

He emphasised that this was not about wholesale adoption of TCM treatments, but a thoughtful selection of therapies that have been shown to work, complementing Western medicine to improve outcomes for patients, including those who do not respond well to conventional treatments alone.

As a start, the proposed treatments will be evaluated for scientific robustness by an MOH-commissioned committee, and then trialled "in a controlled environment" in public healthcare institutions for one to two years.

"During the sandbox phase, our foremost priority is to ensure patient safety and maintain high standards of care," Mr Ong said.