People still underestimate traditional medicine treatment
Suffering from bone and joint pain for many years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly (58 years old, Dong Nai province) regularly uses Western medicine for treatment. Because according to Ms. Ly, for bone and joint diseases that require X-rays and ultrasounds, Western medicine will make her feel more secure in treating the disease.
Actually, every time I think about medical examination, I often think about Western medicine treatment hospitals. I have also been introduced a few times by acquaintances to take traditional medicine for bone and joint diseases, but honestly I have never tried it," Ms. Ly added.
Recording the opinions of many people today, the belief in traditional medicine is still low, because partly because of the habit of examination at Western hospitals, the rest of the time traditional medicine has not really been widely deployed in the treatment of common diseases in people.
Although its role has been affirmed in many strategic documents of the Party and the State, traditional medicine is still not considered commensurate in the health system, especially in large cities. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay - former Head of the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, one of the reasons why traditional medicine has not fully developed its potential is that the approach is still "supportive", not considered a true pillar in primary health care, chronic disease treatment and rehabilitation.
Many places still consider traditional medicine as a second choice, only used when Western medicine is difficult, while the nature of traditional medicine is disease prevention, comprehensive and long-term treatment," Ms. Bay said.
According to this expert, the rapid development of modern medicine with high technology and deep intervention techniques has somewhat overshadowed the sustainable values of traditional medicine. Meanwhile, strengths such as treating chronic diseases, non-communicable diseases, rehabilitation, improving quality of life - issues that are increasingly common in urban areas - are the "home field" of traditional medicine.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Bay also pointed out that the lack of synchronous investment in human resources, facilities and scientific research makes traditional medicine difficult to create widespread trust in society. Communication work is still vague, not helping people correctly and fully understand the effectiveness and scientific value of traditional medicine in the modern context.
Traditional medicine is regaining its position
Citing the spirit of Resolution 72 of the Politburo, Dr. Do Tan Khoa - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Traditional Medicine Hospital said that frankly recognizing that traditional medicine has not fully promoted its potential is a valid and necessary assessment for the process of building new policies.
One of the biggest reasons why traditional medicine has been underestimated is that in-depth specialized training has not been properly invested in for a long time," he said. The lack of specialized fields has made the treatment effectiveness in some fields not fully utilize the inherent capacity of traditional medicine.
In addition, investment resources are also a significant barrier. According to Dr. Do Tan Khoa, although they are two leading units, the total investment for Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Traditional Medicine and Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine and Traditional Medicine for many years still accounts for a very low proportion compared to the total investment of the health sector. "This is an objective disadvantage in terms of institutions and resources," he frankly said.
Not only that, the pharmaceutical supply chain, the core element of traditional medicine, also lacked synchronous linkage. Many pharmaceutical development programs were implemented but did not pay due attention to output, leading to breakdowns in production, distribution and application in practical treatment.
The overarching orientation is to comprehensively combine traditional medicine and modern medicine, develop a balanced traditional medicine network at three levels: the initial level, the basic level and the in-depth level, bringing traditional medicine closer to the people. However, to achieve that transformation, the traditional medicine industry has gone through many stages of being "outdone".
