SPEECH BY DR KOH POH KOON, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH AND MANPOWER, AT THE NTU INAUGURAL SINGAPORE GLOBAL TCM SUMMIT

Professor Liu Hong, Associate Vice President, International (Liaison & Coordination), Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

Professor Kanaga Sabapathy, Chair, School of Biological Sciences, NTU

Associate Professor Zhong Lidan, Director, Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine, NTU

Professor Tang Zhishu, President, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

My former parliamentary colleague, Dr Teo Ho Pin, Chairman of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board

Professor Lim Shih Hui, Head of the Traditional & Complementary Medicine branch from the Ministry of Health

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

各位远道来的朋友们

大家早上好. I am very honoured to join you today at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s first Singapore Global Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Summit. To get the first summit going is always a big challenge but I am glad to see many of you come from afar to join us in this very important summit that will lay the foundation of how we learn TCM in Singapore. Today’s gathering brings together experts, practitioners and policymakers, and reflects Singapore’s commitment to a healthcare system that is both world-class and forward-looking.

Healthier SG and Preventive Care

2.       Our national initiative, Healthier SG, exemplifies this vision by shifting the focus of care from one of treating illnesses to proactively preventing them. We are going upstream to keep our population healthy. We aim to mobilise family doctors to deliver preventive care and for Singapore residents to adopt a personalised Health Plan with lifestyle adjustments, regular health screening and staying up-to-date with their vaccinations. We have launched a national enrolment exercise to anchor residents with a family doctor whom they will see and seek help regularly. These measures strive to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, especially as our population ages.

MOH’s Initiatives on Harnessing TCM for Community Health

Healthier SG x TCM Joint Enrolment Scheme

3.       The principles of TCM align quite naturally with our Healthier SG vision. For centuries, TCM has championed a holistic approach to wellness, emphasising the delicate balance between bodily systems and prioritising preventive care. TCM practitioners (TCMPs) do not only treat symptoms but also guide patients on their diet, their exercise regimes and importantly, lifestyle modifications – elements that support and complement our doctors’ health plans. With one-fifth of Singapore’s population already consulting TCMPs, TCM will be a valuable touchpoint to engage more people to join Healthier SG and expand preventive care approach.

4.       As an oncology surgeon, very often when I see my patients after surgery as they're doing the chemotherapy, they will be asking me about TCM, because they believe that in the past, medication and the stressful surgery that they did, TCM will help them to regain their health much faster and mitigate some of the side effects. So you can see that actually In the population, there is already a very strong belief as TCM can play a very important role together with surgery and Western medication. So in the coming years, accredited TCM clinics and TCMPs will be able to deliver preventive care advice through dietary and lifestyle recommendations as part of Healthier SG. So now imagine a healthcare journey where your TCMPs can refer you to your family doctor for fully subsidised vaccinations, screenings or chronic disease management, while continuing to provide you with TCM care. So this is our vision of trying to integrate both the advocates of TCM and Western medicine together. This collaborative model between Western doctors and TCMPs ensures patients truly benefit from the strengths and benefits of both medical systems.

TCM Clinical Training Programme

5.       This vision of integrated care requires TCMPs who are confident and well-prepared. While our TCM sector has grown significantly, we do recognise that the transition from study to independent practice can be challenging for many newly qualified TCM practitioners. That is why we are taking concrete steps to support our TCM professionals at every stage of their careers.

6.       TCMPs may be uncertain about providing independent patient care immediately upon graduation or licensing, and this is no different from how many of our Western doctors feel when they first graduate from the medical school. In response to this, MOH has introduced a 1-year full-time TCM Clinical Training Programme (CTP) in January 2024. When I was last at MOH, before I came back again this time round, the last time I was here, we had a very in-depth conversation with the TCM board and many of the key TCM practitioners who have many years of practice here in Singapore gave the feedback that this is what they say is a gap. How do you empower more of the young graduates, newly licensed TCM professionals and practitioners, to gain more confidence in practising independently. So when I was there, we talked about how to implement this training programme and it was still in the early planning stage, but I am glad to see that it has now been successfully implemented. The 3-year pilot helps TCMPs transit from clinical training as a student to actual clinical solo-practice, just like how we helped our medical school graduates enter the one year housemanship programme in the hospitals to build their confidence before their registration and practise more independently. So I strongly encourage our newly-registered TCMPs to apply for the programme as the additional clinical training can serve to strengthen their TCM consultation capabilities and procedural skills after the exams.

TCM Research Grant and Integrative Sandbox

7.       Beyond strengthening clinical training, we must also advance TCM through robust research and evidence-based integration. This dual approach of nurturing practitioners while expanding our knowledge base is crucial for TCM's continued development in our healthcare landscape. Our patients expect us to be evidence based and so we have to up our game to make sure that we meet their aspirations and their expectations. Our commitment to establishing scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of TCM continues to grow stronger. Since 2014, MOH TCM Research Grant has fostered valuable collaborations between public healthcare institutions, academic institutions, and TCMPs. This initiative has supported 21 research projects to date. I am really encouraged to see 31 new proposals submitted in our latest grant call this year, with about one-third of the proposals currently shortlisted for potential awards. So keep your ears and eyes open, we will announce this soon once we have decided which of these proposals will receive the grants.

8.       Now, additionally, MOH has recently announced the TCM Integrative Sandbox initiative to test and evaluate evidence-based TCM treatments. This initiative focuses on acupuncture and/or Chinese Proprietary Medicines proposed by our public health institutions, and will be executed within controlled environments in the hospitals. The response has so far been encouraging, with 18 proposals received from institutions of all three of our healthcare clusters. The evaluation is ongoing, and we look forward to sharing more details when they become available. By generating rigorous data on efficacy and cost effectiveness, we can thoughtfully select and integrate safe and effective TCM practices into mainstream medicine for optimal patient care.

National Exemplary TCMPs Awards

9.       It is also important that in the midst of pushing for development, that we recognise TCMPs who have demonstrated excellence in clinical practice and made outstanding contributions to TCM development and education here in Singapore. As such, MOH and the Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore are jointly launching the National Exemplary TCMPs Awards from next year. The new award aims to encourage the TCM sector to raise their professional standards of care and adherence to best practices. Nominations are currently open till October this year, so you still have about a few more weeks to go. So please do consider nominating your peers; those whom you feel are exemplary and have made contributions to TCM practice in Singapore. I think it is time to give them the recognition so please nominate your peers for this award.

NTU’s Role in Education, Research and Initiatives

10.      In 2005, NTU and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) pioneered a joint double-degree programme in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine with many batches of Singaporean students who have gone through this programme and are now alumnus of this very, very proud faculty. This programme has produced many bilingual TCMPs who are well-versed in both Chinese and Western medical concepts. I look forward to celebrating the 20^th anniversary of NTU’s Chinese Medicine programme later tonight with all of you.

11.      Today, NTU continues to review and enhance its TCM education programme. Last year, NTU launched Singapore’s new locally conferred Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Medicine, designed to better integrate evidence-based TCM practice and research into the curriculum based on Singapore’s growing healthcare needs and especially contextualised to our local setting. Building on the Bachelor’s degree programme, NTU will further introduce a new Master’s programme in Chinese Medicine in 2026, creating a local pathway for advanced clinical and research training in TCM. The foundation we lay today will provide a local pipeline of good calibre TCMPs for the future advancement of TCM.

12.      On future initiatives, NTU will collaborate with BUCM to establish a joint laboratory that applies artificial intelligence (AI) to TCM research and chronic disease management. This collaboration aims to personalise TCM treatments and predict disease trends, bridging ancient knowledge with cutting-edge technology.

Closing

13.      All these exciting developments underscore a key point: TCMPs are an invaluable component of Singapore’s future healthcare landscape. TCMPs are also important component to Singapore’s future healthcare workforce. Doctors trained in both Western medicine and TCM – as seen in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – can offer comprehensive care across many different domains. The announcements made today – new education, training, award programmes, research collaborations and hospital partnerships – all these are concrete steps in the right direction. And in this direction, our aim is to build on Singapore’s strong healthcare foundations and will bring us closer to a care model that is preventive, integrated and patient-focused.

14.      In closing, I would like to thank all the organisers and participants of this Summit. The collaboration between the government, academic and healthcare institutions, and the Western doctors and TCM community epitomises our national spirit of partnership and innovation. As we celebrate 20 years of Chinese medicine education at NTU and launch these new initiatives, let us reaffirm our shared commitment: to harness the best of traditional and modern medicine in service of Singaporeans’ health. Together, we will build a Healthier SG – where every citizen here, everyone in Singapore is empowered to live and age well. Thank you very much and I wish all of you a very successful summit.