The regulation of Chinese medicine in Thailand

Abstract

: Even though traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been in Thailand for several hundred years, the role of TCM in the public health service system has just started about 25 years ago after the establishment of the Collaborating Center of Thai-Chinese Medicine in the Ministry of Public Health in 1995, and the Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine in 2002. Initially, TCM practitioners in Thailand learned and gained experience in TCM from their ancestors or from universities abroad, before the start of the five-year Bachelor’s degree program in Thailand in 2004 and the development of the standard criteria for the accreditation of TCM educational institutions thereafter. Currently, there are a total of 9 universities with accredited TCM faculties and colleges producing about 200 graduates each year. In addition, there is also a three-month acupuncture and moxibustion training course for medical doctors. Under the Practice of the Art of Healing Act (No. 4) B.E. 2556 [2013], the Profession Commission in the Branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, among various duties and responsibilities, is in charge of organizing annual TCM knowledge test and the issuance of TCM practitioner license. Regarding the regulation of Chinese medicinal products, their production, import, sale and advertisement were regulated under the Drug Act, B.E. 2510 [1967] until 2019 when the Herbal Product Act, B.E. 2562 [2019] has come into force and TCM products become a type of herbal products under this new Act. Presently, acupuncture is the only TCM treatment modality officially available in some public health service facilities, while a wide range of TCM therapies are available in TCM clinics. The number of patients who come to receive TCM treatment in public hospitals and private clinics has continuously increased each year. It is expected that from 2021 onward, when acupuncture therapy becomes a part of the service package for the beneficiaries of the Universal Health Coverage scheme for the rehabilitation of new cases of stroke patients in intermediate care (IMC), together with already available physiotherapy, TCM will gain even higher acceptance by other healthcare professionals and the public in the future.