From tradition to integration: Reimagining traditional medicine in modern healthcare

Title : From tradition to integration: Reimagining traditional medicine in modern healthcare

Abstract:

Traditional medicine has sustained health and healing practices across cultures for centuries, yet its role within modern healthcare remains complex. As healthcare systems increasingly embrace person-centred, preventive and holistic approaches, there is growing interest in how traditional medicine can be thoughtfully integrated with contemporary biomedical care. The challenge, however, is not simply to preserve traditional practices, but to determine how they can coexist with modern healthcare while maintaining scientific rigour, patient safety and respect for traditional knowledge. This presentation explores a framework for integrating Traditional Medicine (TM) and Complementary Health Practices (CHP) into contemporary healthcare. It considers three interconnected dimensions: evidence, integration and person-centred care. Evidence is essential to evaluate efficacy, mechanisms, quality and safety; integration requires clear understanding of potential interactions, appropriate referral pathways and collaboration between conventional and traditional healthcare practitioners; while person-centred care recognises patients as active participants whose health beliefs, cultural practices and treatment preferences influence healthcare decisions. Particular attention will be given to the opportunities and challenges of integrating practices such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, herbal medicine, tuina and other complementary approaches into modern healthcare. Rather than positioning traditional and Western medicine as competing paradigms, an integrative model can create opportunities for both systems to contribute their respective strengths.
Ultimately, the future of traditional medicine in modern healthcare should not be defined by tradition versus science, but by tradition informed by science, science enriched by tradition, and care centred on the person. Such an approach has the potential to move traditional medicine from the margins of healthcare towards a more responsible, evidence-informed and collaborative role in contemporary health and wellbeing.

Biography:

Fui Ping is Director of Student Affairs and Senior Lecturer at the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore. She holds a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) and Master of Nursing from the University of Sydney, Australia, and a PhD (Medicine) from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. Her clinical, academic and research interests centre on skin health, wound healing and regenerative approaches. She is increasingly interested in complementary and alternative medicine and its evidenceinformed integration with conventional healthcare, particularly in promoting skin health, healthy ageing and holistic wellbeing. Her work seeks to bridge traditional knowledge, scientific evidence and contemporary clinical practice.