Although they practise TCM, all the top TCM professionals in China are also trained in Western medicine, which allows them to combine the two approaches in their work. And the Western approach alone may not be better in all cases. There is no such thing as one is better than the other. Dr Fei Guo Quan, an acupuncturist at TCMS Healthcare who is a consultant acupuncturist at Suzhou TCM Hospital and a lecturer at Nanjing University of TCM, was expecting resistance when she was first posted here. They trust Western medicine, where your problem can be solved with one jab or one pill.
Technology plays a big part in the daily operations of the two clinics.
Aiming to be a Chinese version of Mount Elizabeth's specialists clinic, Ngee Ann TCM Centre blends traditional medicine with modern convenience. The dispensing machine at TCMS Healthcare, on the other hand, packs medicinal herbs in powder form into handy sachets which patients then empty into hot water. The young, in particular, don't even know how to go about doing it. Response to both clinics has been very encouraging so far. About 800 to 1,000 patients have been dropping by Ngee Ann TCM Centre every month since it opened in November last year, while TCMS Healthcare sees about 500 consultations a month.