Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine

China plans standards and standards for traditional Chinese medicine

27/02/2011

Deputy Chinese Minister of Health and Chairman of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Wang Guoqiang said China wants to better place the effective and millennia-old healing art of natural healing on the world market. For this purpose, work has been intensified in China on the standardization and standardization of TCM healing methods and resources. In a worldwide exchange, this procedure is to be further developed, so that patients outside the Asian continent also benefit from holistic treatment methods.

Natural healing has played an important role in China for thousands of years. Even today, TCM procedures are indispensable in modern Chinese medicine. In cooperation with researchers from other countries, good research results in the field of medicine have already been achieved. Therefore, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a major contributor to international medical research, said the Chinese TCM expert.

Rethinking conventional medicine
In recent years, a turnaround in medical research has been observed. Instead of merely combating the symptoms, one now proceeds to research the causes of diseases. Due to the holistic approach, TCM is gaining more and more importance in research. If diseases can not be treated with conventional treatment methods, conventional medicine also resorts to the healing arts of TCM. More and more doctors are already convinced of the positive forces. In Germany there are now a whole series of recognized clinics whose treatment plans also include therapeutic approaches of acupuncture and herbal medicine.

In traditional Chinese medicine, essentially substances of nature are used. So treatments are usually made with plant ingredients, animal preparations and minerals. The most widespread in the western industrial nations are the TCM forms of acupuncture, ear acupuncture and remedial massages.

Many TCM remedies will no longer be available from April 2011 across the EU
The lack of normalization and standardization is, according to the Minister of Health, the biggest weaknesses of TCM. Because the healing arts were given for thousands of years in large parts only orally. China is now working harder to create standards. Background of China's increased engagement is likely to be the new legislation of the European Union (EU). As of April 2011, many TCM remedies will no longer be available in Europe. According to the new guidelines of “European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products” All herbal remedies must be re-registered. The guidelines were already passed in 2004. However, until April of this year, there was a transitional phase.

So far, not a single registration of TCM medicines has taken place. As a result, many TCM funds from China will no longer be available on the European market. In order to change this situation, one now wants to work together with numerous western research institutions. The Chinese Vice Minister is convinced of the scientific provability of TCM. So Wang Guoqiang said: „In China, efforts are increasingly being made to set standards and standards for traditional Chinese medicine. Quality and safety are better controlled. It must be possible to measure their effectiveness with modern scientific methods.“ At scientific congresses and events, China will now increasingly participate in discussions on norms of ethnomedicine. (Sb)

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