Traditional ways can work with Western methods

NST: A STROKE patient is being given acupuncture treatment in the traditional Chinese medicine wing on the second floor of Tung Shin Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.
Over at the Western wing, a patient is prescribed Western medicine only for the same ailment. Nearby, another patient is taking Western medicine before going for acupuncture at the Chinese wing.
Tung Shin, which was set up in the late 19th century, opened 12 traditional Chinese medicine wings in February this year — with physicians trained in a range of fields, including acupuncture, orthopaedics, oncology and gynaecology.
And although the 15 traditional Chinese doctors and 37 Western-trained doctors operate separately in different wings, the hospital does offer integrated medicine.
Lam Wah Ee Hospital in Penang, however, has opted not to integrate — for now.
Tung Shin’s Chinese Medical Department head Professor Zhao Tian Yong says they don’t exchange opinions about a patient’s condition or plan treatment together. But they do suggest appropriate treatments to their patients.
As an oncologist, he recommends surgery and chemotherapy to his patients if they need it, but he also uses traditional Chinese medicine which, he says, can protect the patient and reduce side effects of chemotherapy such as thirst.
"This also happens in the Western Medical Department. Their doctors will recommend coming here if they feel traditional Chinese medicine is more suitable for them," he says.
At Lam Wah Ee Hospital, medical superintendent Datuk Dr Yip Kok Thye says his Western division and the traditional Chinese division do not recommend or refer patients to each other, "but they are free to move to either side on their own accord".
Yip is cautious about combining both schools of treatment.
"We need more information and very good clinical trials on whether integrated medicine works and complements Western treatment," he warns.
The Ministry of Health is taking the right step by conducting a pilot project first, he says.