On July 4, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long chaired a conference to review 5 years of implementing the Traditional Medicine Development Program, combining traditional medicine with modern medicine. The conference was held online, connecting to provinces and cities across the country.
Reporting at the conference, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that after 5 years of implementing the Program, the traditional medicine network has been consolidated and developed synchronously nationwide.
To date, the country has 66 public traditional medicine hospitals and 10 private traditional medicine hospitals, nearly double that of 2019. The ratio of traditional medicine hospital beds reached 16% of the total number of hospital beds, an increase of 2.7% compared to 5 years ago.
In the period of 2020-2025, 30 national-level science and technology tasks on traditional medicine have been approved and implemented. Notably, the field of medicinal plant development has made a breakthrough, Vietnam currently records more than 5,100 species of plants, fungi, hundreds of species of animals, minerals and seaweeds with medicinal uses. 25 provinces have developed plans for medicinal plant growing areas, domestic medicinal plant purchasing units and facilities have increased, and medicinal plant cultivation facilities have developed strongly.
Although many encouraging results have been achieved, according to Minister Dao Hong Lan, the development of traditional medicine in the past 5 years has not really been commensurate with its inherent potential and strengths. A number of important goals, targets, tasks and projects have not been completed as expected. According to the Minister of Health, investment resources for the field of traditional medicine in terms of budget, human resources and facilities are still modest. Policy mechanisms have not kept up with the development of traditional medicine, and feasibility is not high. Investment resources are not commensurate with the role and importance of traditional medicine...
Speaking at the conference, Associate Professor, Doctor Vu Nam, Director of the Central Hospital of Traditional Medicine, said that the viewpoint of combining traditional medicine and modern medicine in general public health care and treatment and prevention of non-communicable diseases is extremely correct and necessary. However, in order to achieve the desired results as well as the expectations of the people in the "new era - the era of science and technology", the era of applying science and technology 4.0 and digital transformation, managers and experts need to pay attention to synchronously developing at the same time the contents such as: policies, funding for infrastructure investment, equipment, cultural interests, in which the human resource factor of the traditional medicine sector is the key. The assessment and training of human resources actually working in the field of traditional medicine is a necessary factor, in order to inherit, develop and modernize in all areas of traditional medicine combined with modern medicine.
The great potentials, opportunities and challenges have been and are being realized with the attention and direction of the Party, Government, ministries and branches, especially policies and decisions on the development orientation of traditional medicine, combining traditional medicine and modern medicine in people's health care.
In addition, Mr. Vu Nam warned about the problem of some inconsistent evaluation standards between traditional medicine and modern medicine; many medicinal herbs and herbal medicines still face many difficulties in terms of origin, source, quality...
Doctor, People's Physician Dau Xuan Canh, Chairman of the Vietnam Oriental Medicine Association, emphasized the need to develop a training program for traditional medicine practitioners, thereby contributing to standardizing the team of traditional medicine practitioners, helping to limit the situation of practicing without a license, using drugs of unknown origin and poor quality, affecting people's health.
Discussing this opinion, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry was assigned to draft a Directive on strengthening the combination of traditional medicine with modern medicine; promoting research, application of science, technology, innovation and creativity to develop Vietnamese traditional medicine in the coming period. This includes the responsibility of ministries and branches in building a database of medicinal herbs, medicinal ingredients and traditional remedies; strengthening the management, propaganda and inspection of information and advertising activities on traditional medicine, strictly handling violations; promoting the training of specialized and high-quality traditional medicine human resources; researching and developing a training program for traditional medicine practitioners;...
Concluding the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long emphasized the role of traditional medicine, an important part of Vietnamese medicine. Traditional medicine has accompanied the history of the nation with the four diagnosis methods (observation, hearing, questioning, and palpation - four basic methods of medical examination in traditional medicine). The current legal system always has a part on medicine and pharmacy, however the level in each period is different.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Traditional Medicine Development Program has been seriously implemented, with four positive results. Firstly, the traditional medicine medical examination and treatment network has been invested in, newly built, upgraded and expanded.
Second, the quality of medical examination and treatment services is getting better and better; the rate of patients receiving care and health protection using traditional medicine is increasing; the quality of medicinal herbs and traditional medicine is improved.
Third, socialization in traditional medicine is increasingly developing; training of traditional medicine staff and scientific research are focused. In the 2017-2018 period, there were 850 graduates, while in the 2022-2024 period, there were 1,350 graduates.
Fourth, the application of information technology and digital transformation in management and examination and treatment with traditional medicine is receiving more attention.
However, the Deputy Prime Minister said that we must frankly admit that there are still many limitations. Most of the targets set out in Decision 1893 have not been achieved.
The Deputy Prime Minister gave an example: the number of provinces and cities (as of July 1) with traditional medicine hospitals has only reached 92% (the target is 95%). The rate of medical examinations using traditional medicine, combining traditional medicine with modern medicine out of the total number of medical examinations and treatments is 3.3%, while the target is 15%.
“There are many reasons, but I think one of the most important reasons is awareness. There is not enough attention paid to traditional medicine. Investment in infrastructure, mechanisms and policies has not kept up with demand,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
In the coming time, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long requested to thoroughly implement the direction of the General Secretary at the working session with the Ministry of Health on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Vietnam Doctors' Day, which is: "Developing traditional medicine combined with modern medicine. It is necessary to enhance the role of traditional medicine in health care, especially in the treatment of chronic diseases and rehabilitation; combining traditional medicine with modern medicine in diagnosis and treatment; promoting research on folk remedies, improving the scientific nature of traditional medicine; investing in oriental medicine research centers, developing effective herbal treatment methods; supporting the training of traditional medicine doctors, expanding the model of combining oriental and western medicine."
The Politburo's draft Resolution on breakthroughs in public health care also emphasizes the promotion of combining traditional medicine with modern medicine in training medical personnel, disease prevention, medical examination and treatment, especially in the treatment of chronic diseases, rehabilitation, disease prevention by health care methods, macrobiotics...
The political foundation, determination and will of the leader are clear, so now our responsibility is to organize implementation, so that traditional medicine can truly develop to its full potential, the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that it is necessary to strongly innovate thinking; have very specific, feasible solutions with long-term strategic vision; and review current legal documents related to traditional medicine.
Regarding human resource training and development, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that traditional medicine and pharmacy must have a worthy position in terms of profession. Procedures must be completed soon to build a new second campus of the Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy.
Regarding science and technology, the Deputy Prime Minister said that there must be scientific research with a mark, emphasizing support for the idea of having products similar to OCOP products of Vietnamese traditional medicine. There must be a synchronous movement of the insurance agency in promoting the use of these products.
Regarding medicinal resources, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, we should learn from the model of the former Quang Nam (now Da Nang), with the Project to develop and form a Medicinal Industry Center in Quang Nam province, with Ngoc Linh ginseng as the main crop.
The Deputy Prime Minister agreed with the idea of combining the four sectors, in which the State creates favorable conditions in terms of policies and mechanisms. Emphasizing the need for science and technology, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, “sometimes the products we produce are very good, but if we do not know how to transport, preserve, and process them, the quality will decrease. And if the process is just a little off, or not scientifically correct, we cannot sell them.”
Affirming the indispensable role of businesses, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that large corporations must invest in this field to support farmers and scientists in creating specific pharmaceuticals.
The Deputy Prime Minister also assigned specific tasks to relevant ministries; requested the Ministry of Health to absorb opinions at the conference to complete the Prime Minister's Directive on developing traditional medicine./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/pho-thu-tuong-nang-cao-vai-tro-cua-y-hoc-co-truyen-trong-cham-soc-suc-khoe-post1047955.vnp
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