Traditional & Alternative Medicine

Integrative medicine is a patient-centered, holistic approach which makes use of all appropriate therapeutic modalities, harnesses the body’s innate healing ability, and emphasizes prevention and wellness. It is informed by evidence and varied in practice. In this talk, an overview of the concepts of integrative medicine and Chinese Medicine will be presented. With aging population, sedentary lifestyle, physical and psychological stresses from everyday life and work, increasing prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases (e.g. metabolic diseases) and increasing healthcare costs, it is timely to explore how integrating Complementary Medicine (including Chinese Medicine) and allopathic medicine can help an individual as well as the larger community strive towards safe, eff ective, aff ordable, accessible and comprehensive care for health promotion, disease prevention and treatment. Some of the key challenges will be discussed and recommendations to address the challenges will be presented.