Not for now, but if practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine upgrade professional standards, Govt will reconsider, says Chan Soo Sen

SHOULD the Government recognise medical certificates issued by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine?

MPs who raised this issue in Parliament yesterday were told that the Government was not ready to accept the certificates now.

But the question will be considered again, when the practitioners manage to professionalise their practice and upgrade their standards.

"I do not know when this is going to be,'' said Mr Chan Soo Sen, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Health.

"It is up to the traditional Chinese medicine community to raise their standards,'' he added during the debate on a Bill to boost the standards of traditional Chinese medicine practised here.

The Bill was passed yesterday.

Mr Chan said that it was up to private-sector employers to decide whether to recognise medical certificates issued by Chinese physicians.

It was also up to employers, not the Government, to decide whether to reimburse workers for medical claims arising from seeing Chinese physicians.

"The most important thing is for the practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to upgrade professional standards to the satisfaction of the patients and employers.''

Three MPs spoke yesterday in support of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioners Bill.

Mr Ang Mong Seng (Bukit Gombak) proposed a code of conduct to improve the image of those practising traditional Chinese medicine.

Nominated MP Tay Beng Chuan noted that more people are turning to these Chinese sinsehs, with over 1 million visits made a year.

These physicians and traditional Chinese medicine shops provide cheaper health-care services amid the rising costs of Western medicine, he noted.

He said the rules in the Bill to regulate traditional Chinese medical practices should not end up raising costs for practitioners and their patients.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah) pressed for stringent entry standards for students studying traditional medicine, as these practitioners deal with people's lives.

In his replies, Mr Chan said the Bill to regulate traditional Chinese medical practices should not lead to higher charges for patients.

Registration fees for practitioners form only a tiny portion of their annual income, he said.

The academic qualifications of students of traditional Chinese medicine had also improved in recent years.

Most of them have the qualifications to enter polytechnics and some have university degrees. The students also include a few doctors trained in Western medicine.

Referring to the code of conduct, Mr Chan said the proposed board for practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine can set guidelines and take disciplinary action against those who do not behave properly.

(From Straitstimes)