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Assistant Health Director from Hong Kong SAR talks about the popularity, regulation and benefits of traditional medicine

The effectiveness of traditional medicine has long been a hotly debated topic in the health industry, but it remains widely used in many countries. According to research by the World Health Organization (WHO), the practice of traditional medicine is on the rise, not only in China where it has long been practised, but also in countries such as Australia, where “visits to complementary health professionals such as acupuncturists, chiropractors and naturopaths have been growing rapidly with an increase of over 30% between 1995 and 2005.”

Ronald MK Lam is an assistant director at the Department of Health, Hong Kong, and with his less orthodox health background than some of his fellow participants, he was invited to share his insights into what role traditional medicine can play in the promotion of health at the Salzburg Global Seminar program Hooked on Health Care: Designing Strategies for Better Health.

Lam is responsible for regulations of the practice, use and trading of traditional medicine, and as such his work includes licensing traders from manufacturing through to wholesale and retail. He also deals with professions including Chinese medicine practitioners who need to obtain their registration and licenses in the practice of traditional medicine. 

Traditional medicine is deeply engrained in many cultures across the world. As Lam explained: “Traditional medicine is of growing importance because we know the global use and public acceptance of traditional medicines is increasing and that applies to Hong Kong too.

“It’s indigenous in Australia, there is Oriental medicine in Korea, and also Japan has indigenous medicine as well. So it has been very much engrained in culture and that still stands today,” Lam said. 

“For example, before Western medicine was introduced to China, the health of the people had been sustained on traditional medicine for thousands of years. So it does have a role in the medical system and culture.”

With more and more people using traditional medicine, Lam recognizes the importance of taking steps to ensure more in-depth research is conducted in traditional medicine techniques. 

“It’s important to improve and increase the research to understand the scientific basis of traditional medicine. It’s widely used in the community which means if it can be incorporated into the primary care levels, it offers a cheaper and cost effective way for people to prevent diseases.”

Although he was not a user or advocate of traditional medicine before taking up his current role, Lam now believes traditional medicine could be used to help empower people and patients on the road to recovery.

“Today we talk about individual empowerment,” He said, “So with the cultural grounding of traditional medicine practices such as tai chi, moxibustion and acupuncture, it serves a purpose of trying to understand the difference between the disease and human, and also empowers them to improve their self-care when using traditional medicine.”

Many of traditional medicine remedies derive from plants, animals or minerals. There are also physical movements related forms of traditional medicine such as tai chi, a series of maneuvers dictated by a set of rules which aim to relieve the physical effects of stress on both body and mind.

With an aging population and new health care reforms there are several issues affecting the sustainability of Hong Kong’s medical system, explains Lam. 

“Hong Kong is adopting a health system where no one will be denied medical care due to a lack of means. This means everyone will be covered and the poor will have treatment for any disease. But the worry is with an increasing population and aging of the population, this could all pose a burden on the health system that may render it unsustainable.”

While far removed from Hong Kong, Lam gained useful insights during his time in Salzburg. “It’s been very fruitful and I’m incredibly honored to be part of this Salzburg Global Seminar [program]. We’ve been able to deliberate on many health issues that are applicable to Hong Kong as well,” he said.

“One example is the factors of early childhood adversities leading to subsequent early deaths and children growing up with various diseases due to childhood adversity feedback. Thanks to the case studies I’ve heard from the Fellows here, we may make new deals in Hong Kong and refine our current care for adolescents including early childhood. We will be collaborating with hospitals and also the social welfare sector to achieve this.”

Ronald MK Lam was a participant at the session Hooked on Health Care: Designing Systems for Better Health.The session is part of the Salzburg Global series “Health and Health Care Innovation in the 21st Century” and was held in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Health Foundation. More information on the session can be found here: www.salzburgglobalseminar.org/go/559