SINGAPORE: Singapore is introducing a voluntary accreditation framework for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) providers and studying whether accredited TCM practitioners working with general practitioners (GPs) can be allowed to order X-rays.
The move is part of a broader push to explore integrative medicine and expand TCM's role in mainstream healthcare.
They come alongside efforts to introduce local degree and master’s programmes in TCM, conduct sandbox studies to bring TCM treatments into mainstream care, and explore how TCM can contribute to the Healthier SG preventive care programme.
Launched on Oct 17, the TCM Accreditation Programme will accredit the first five TCM providers.
The first five accredited providers are Kwong Wai Shiu TCM Centre in Serangoon; NTU Chinese Medicine; Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution Headquarters; Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution Headquarters; and Thomson Chinese Medicine in Novena.
“Our objective is to establish accreditation as something beyond licence of practice,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at the opening of the 23rd World Congress of Chinese Medicine on Oct 17.
He said accreditation demonstrates a commitment to stronger governance, consistent standards and public confidence.
“It creates opportunities for accredited practitioners and providers to work with the Ministry of Health in co-designing future TCM care models and contributing to our national healthcare initiatives.”
The TCM Accreditation Programme, administered by the Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore, has separate tracks for organisations and individuals.
Organisations are assessed on factors including governance, hygiene and infection control, equipment, and the preparation and dispensing of TCM medications. Practitioners are assessed on qualifications, clinical experience and professional standing, among other criteria.
Accreditation goes beyond the requirements for TCM practitioners to register with the TCM Practitioners Board and hold valid practising certificates. Registered practitioners and providers can continue practising and operating without accreditation.
Accreditation will be valid for three years for clinics and two years for practitioners.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will also open a second call for proposals under its TCM Integrative Sandbox from Nov 3. The initiative allows public healthcare institutions to test and evaluate selected TCM treatments in hospital settings.
Launched in January 2025, the sandbox evaluates whether treatments are clinically effective and cost-effective. Those that show positive results over one to two years could be considered for wider adoption and financial support.
Ong said MOH wants to support further work involving Chinese proprietary medicines, including their use in managing chronic diseases.
“The call for sandbox proposals will therefore remain open for another three years,” he added.
Seven acupuncture projects were selected for trials from 18 proposals submitted under the first call.
They cover stroke rehabilitation, migraine, knee osteoarthritis, female infertility, drug-resistant epilepsy and supportive cancer care, including the management of pain, insomnia and fatigue.
Currently, the only TCM treatments subsidised in public hospitals are acupuncture for neck pain and lower back pain.
“What we should not compromise on when developing integrative medicine is to build rigorous evidence for safety and effectiveness,” Ong said.
But he added: “TCM should not be forced into research approaches of modern medicine that do not recognise its long history of development and accumulated empirical evidence.
“For example, randomised controlled trials may not always be practical for TCM. At the same time, neither should TCM be exempt from rigorous evaluation.”
MOH is also aiming to test how collaborative care between TCM practitioners and GPs could work under Healthier SG in the first half of 2027. It has received 30 proposals and is shortlisting applications for further discussion.
The Agency for Integrated Care will also facilitate more partnerships between accredited TCM providers and active ageing centres to bring services closer to seniors.
Kwong Wai Shiu TCM Centre and Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution have started collaborating with such centres, Ong said.
Acceptance among Western doctors is a barrier to mainstream adoption of TCM, said physician Teo Chun Huat, 38, who co-founded NexusTCM Clinic for Family & Children.
Teo and several other TCM practitioners welcomed the accreditation, saying it was a good first step toward helping MOH recognise practitioners as it pursues future efforts to integrate the two medical fields.
Building understanding and trust between TCM and Western medicine will take time, said Ang Liang, 72, of Ang Liang Medical Hall.
Yeo Eng Koon, the 68-year-old chairman of Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution Headquarters, hopes to accredit each of his clinic's nearly 60 physicians.
Physician Victoria Tan, founder and chief physician of Common TCM Medical Centre, said she would apply to have her clinic accredited and hoped the four physicians there would apply as well.
She said TCM would be particularly useful in helping seniors manage long-term chronic conditions and symptoms such as pain, frailty and fatigue.
Referrals between Western and TCM providers would also reduce the burden on these patients of navigating the healthcare system themselves, she added.
