Traditional Medicine in Asia

Traditional Medicine in Asia
The Inclusive System
This system is found in countries such as
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
where the law recognizes two parallel
systems, the traditional and the modern.
The law provides for the registration and
recognition of traditional medical practitioners
and regulates matters pertaining to
medical education, practice, and ethics.
In most countries traditional medical
practitioners originally came from families
where they were taught by their elders.
Knowledge was transmitted from one
generation to another; secret remedies
remained a closely kept secret that was not
recorded in writing. Universities, schools
and colleges for training the different
categories of traditional medical practitioners
were set up much later. In the early
stages, the laws governing medical practice
recognized a category of practitioners
without formal educational qualifications
but who had been in active practice for a
defined period of time. This was a legislative
technique that is generally not found in
laws governing Western or modern
practitioners. Through this device, it was
possible to bring into the mainstream of
traditional medical practice thousands of
practitioners who might otherwise have not
been eligible for registration had formal
qualifications been a statutory requirement.
In almost every society, traditional
medical practitioners gained recognition
through a struggle; each country has its
own story of the battles that were fought.
In many instances, traditional medical
practitioners emerged as a strong and
influential political force to be reckoned
with – even though they were numerically
not large, they had their supporters in large
numbers. State patronage has always
played an important role. The creation of
a separate Ministry of Indigenous Medicine
in Sri Lanka, for instance, was an important
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turning point in the country’s medical
history.
The Integrated System
The integrated system represents a stage
where the inclusive system has evolved into
a system that provides for the two
professions – western or modern medical
practitioners and traditional medical
practitioners – to work together as one
team.
China provides the best known
example of this integrated system. In South
Asia, Nepal can be described as having
adopted this system. The Chinese system,
with the well-known example of barefoot
medical doctors, can be best understood
only within the country’s complex political
context. Indeed, there are concerns as to
whether the Chinese system can be easily
tried out elsewhere with the same degree
of success.
An integrated system offers an
opportunity for each system to offer its best
for the welfare of the patient. In actual
practice, however, some problems can
arise. For instance, drug interactions are
not well-studied and in prescribing
medicines a choice would almost invariably
have to be made between a Western drug
and a herbal product, for instance.
Conclusions
This review of traditional medical practitioners
highlights that different countries
have approached the issue from different
perspectives and that there is no single
legislative model prevalent throughout the
world or any particular geographical
region. Each country has a fairly complex
body of laws, regulations and codes of
conduct applicable to traditional medical
practitioners. It is not possible to comment
on these laws unless they are examined in
the light of the laws, regulations and codes