Taiwan 2002

		Public Health
		Training in Chinese Medicine Doctors of Chinese medicine can receive training at China Medical College Hospital 中國醫藥學院附設醫院, which offers a seven-year Chinese medicine program and a five-year post-baccalaureate Chinese medicine program to train modern Chinese medicine doctors. Since 1998, Chang Gung University 長庚大學 has offered a seven-year program of Chinese medicine. Candidates can then take the national examination offered by the Examination Yuan to qualify as Chinese medicine doctors, and those who pass the written examination can become qualified Chinese medicine practicioners. Non-Chinese Chinese medicine candidates have to pass another special examination and receive eight months of training in basic medical sciences, followed by ten months of clinical practice, before they can be certified as doctors of Chinese medicine. The Taipei Municipal Chinese Medical Hospital 臺北市立中醫醫院 and the Kaohsiung Municipal Chinese Medicine Hospital 高雄市立中醫醫院 were established to promote the development of Chinese medicine, and teaching hospitals are encouraged to set up affiliated departments of Chinese medicine. The advantages of the integration of western and Chinese medicine are thus cooperating to improve the health of people in the ROC. The 42 teaching hospitals with departments of Chinese medicine include the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Linkou, Keelung, Kaohsiung) 長庚醫院林口分院, China Medical College Hospital (Taichung, Peikong) 中國醫藥學院附設醫院, and Tzu Chi Buddhist General Hospital (Hualien) 慈濟綜合醫院, as well as the eight regional hospitals supervised by the DOH (Taipei Hospital 行政院衛生署臺北醫院, Keelung Hospital 行政院衛生署基隆醫院, Miaoli Hospital, Yunlin Hospital, Chiayi Hospital 行政院衛生署嘉義醫院, Hsinying Hospital 行政院衛生署新營醫院, Hualien Hospital 行政院衛生署花蓮醫院, and Penghu Hospital 行政院衛生署澎湖醫院). Other hospitals with Chinese medicine programs include Taipei Municipal Chunghsiao Hospital 臺北市立忠孝醫院, Taipei Municipal Chungshing Hospital 臺北市立中興醫院, Taipei Municipal Jen-ai Hospital 臺北市立仁愛醫院, Taipei Municipal Yangming Hospital 臺北市立陽明醫院, Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital 臺北市立萬芳醫院, Taipei Municipal Women and Children Hospital, Tainan City Hospital 臺南市立醫院, Chi Mei Foundation Hospital (Tainan), Chenghsin Rehabilitation and Medical Center (Taipei), Hsiu Chuan Memorial Hospital (Changhua) 秀傳紀念醫院, Cardinal Tien Center (Taipei) 耕莘醫院, Min-Shen General Hospital (Taoyuan) 敏盛綜合醫院, etc. Traditional Chinese Medicine Chinese medicine is just as valued today by Chinese people as it has been for thousands of years and is enjoying new-found respect from modern western medical researchers. In Taiwan, the main research body specializing in traditional Chinese medicine is the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy (CCMP), whose members are selected from the nation's most distinguished practitioners of Chinese medicine. As of December 2000, there were 3,733 licensed doctors of Chinese medicine practicing in the Taiwan area. There were 2,513 Chinese medical hospitals and clinics, as well as 9,217 licensed dealers and 240 manufacturers of herbal medicines. In Taiwan today, treatment through Chinese medicinal practices, including acupuncture, moxibustion 艾灸 (burning of a medicinal plant close to acupuncture points 穴脈 to restore the body's "energy flow" 行氣 throughout what Chinese medicine refers to as the 12 meridians 經絡), and herbal remedies, is readily available. Treatment through Chinese medicine is also covered by the National Health Insurance program. Chinese medicine is eliminating the stigma of being unscientific by combining age-old practices with modern technology. At the Foundation for East-West Medicine 國際醫學科學研究基金會 in Taipei, doctors are using an electro-dermal screening device (ESD) to pinpoint the source of an illness. The ESD measures what traditional Chinese medicine refers to as the "energy flow" in a patient's body by probing the acupuncture points. Acupuncture is applied in the dentistry department, for example, to locate problems by tracking the places of energy stasis in the mouth. Once the problem area is detected, dental instruments are used to pinpoint and treat the problem. The ROC is the vanguard in research on Chinese medicines, acupuncture, and other Chinese medical practices. Many research projects have been conducted to evaluate the effects of Chinese medicine and acupuncture on various types of illnesses and diseases. The China Medical College 私立中國醫藥學院, for instance, has undertaken studies on the effects of Chinese medicine and acupuncture on hepatitis, sciatica, and other chronic diseases. Similar research studies have been done on the effects of Chinese medicine on nephrosis. Chinese herbal remedies have also been developed for diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus, intestinal ulcers, and bronchial asthma. Chinese medicine is not only used to cure diseases, but also provides daily food supplements to prevent diseases. (Courtesy of the Department of Information, Taipei City Government) From 1996 to 2001, the CCMP sponsored 339 research projects on Chinese medicine. Twenty-five research projects were on acupuncture, 14 projects studied the Chinese medicine policies, 43 were clinical studies on Chinese medicinal practice, 33 were research projects on developing supportive devices for diagnosis, 131 studies examined the pharmacological efficacy of Chinese medicine, 75 projects involved quality control of Chinese drug products, 18 researched herbal medicine. Three books were published as a result of this research: The Quality Control of Chinese Medicine, A Compilation of Medical Fauna Used by Aborigines in Taiwan, and The Treatment of Osteoporosis with Chinese Medicine. In addition, in pursuit of the Chinese medicine exchanges, ten exchange projects between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been subsidized. Number of Chinese Medicine Hospitals and Clinics, December 2000   Hospitals Clinics Total Taiwan Area 52 2.461 2,513 Taiwan Province 38 1,998 2,036 Taipei City 6 280 286 Kaohsiung City 8 183 191 Source: Department of Health Such efforts are helping to incorporate Chinese medicinal knowledge and techniques into modern mainstream medicine. Other projects include publishing research that uses modern scientific technologies to interpret important but abstruse classics on Chinese medicine. These are compiled in the Chinese Medicinal Yearbook 中醫藥年報 published by the DOH. Information concerning Chinese medicine can be obtained on-line at http://www.ccmp.gov.tw or by sending an e-mail to webmaster@ccmp.gov.tw. The Department of Health and the China Medical College study the distribution and cultivation of medicinal plants in the Taiwan area. With the assistance of agriculture and forestry agencies, some rare medicinal plants of high economic value have been cultivated on a trial basis. If the results of these trials are satisfactory, the plants will be farmed on a larger scale to safeguard the supply of raw materials. In the meantime, Kaohsiung Medical College and the China Medical College have been requested to evaluate and assess the efficacy of the available Taiwan-grown herbs to establish a data base on raw materials for Chinese medicine. A program to standardize some 337 Chinese medicine prescriptions was started in July 1990, and by June 2000, about 200 prescriptions had been standardized for use. The program also authorizes factories to produce Chinese medicine. In addition, the China Medical College is hosting a project to promote the cross-strait exchange of Chinese medicine doctors and pharmacists. Related Websites Department of Health Center for Disease Control Bureau of National Health Insurance Copyright (C) July 2002, Government Information Office.   All rights reserved.   Site design by L.F. 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