Society: May the qi be with you

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) thrived through self-organisation and community networks for more than a century before the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Act 2000 and the creation of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board (TCMPB) in 2001 gave it official standing. These moves institutionalised a hybrid legitimacy, acknowledging TCM’s cultural embeddedness while securing its place within the nation’s vision of modern, plural healthcare. “The development of Chinese medicine in Singapore is a metaphor of Singapore,” wrote Yan Yang in “A brief history of Chinese medicine in Singapore”, describing it as a fusion of East and West that embodies “the interaction of Chinese influence and the British colonial legacy.”

The latest partnership between Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) takes this hybridity further. By integrating TCM into inpatient treatment, it explores how Eastern and Western systems can complement each other in pain management, rehabilitation, and palliative care. TTSH already offers acupuncture and cupping, but practitioners hope the collaboration will lead to expanded public subsidies for traditional treatments. Only acupuncture for neck and back pain qualifies for MediSave coverage now.

In the past 18 months, TCM has re-entered the policy conversation in a serious way. The Ministry of Health is considering its inclusion into Healthier SG, the national healthcare reform plan, and is working with the TCMPB to introduce an accreditation framework for practitioners. In July, Ong Ye Kung, health minister, announced that 18 evidence-based TCM proposals will be evaluated and trialled under an integrative sandbox scheme. From 2027, final-year NTU Chinese Medicine students will also begin 13-week clinical rotations at TTSH. Licensure, ethical standards, and professionalisation will strengthen public trust and patient confidence. Technology is part of this shift: AI could soon be used to help manage diabetes or digestive issues from a TCM perspective under a new NTU-Beijing University of Chinese Medicine lab collaboration. 

Local demand is also growing as TCM has gained acceptance beyond the Chinese community. According to the 2022 National Population Health Survey, one in five adult Singaporeans uses TCM services each year, and nearly 40 percent of them combine it with Western medicine. Singapore’s medical system would do well to offer greater choice, affordability, and access while enhancing safety. Doing so could expand our understanding of the human body. Not merely as an organ- and cellular-based machine, but an interconnected and interdependent system of energy, emotion and environment. Where the balance of yin and yang, “wind”, “heat”, and “dampness” become part of our lexicon of well-being.