Abstract:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long justified its practice on
empirical phenomenology. Questions remain however, as to the legitimacy
of this approach and its relevance to TCM practice and educational
developments in the 21st century. General Medical Practice (GMP) has
used practice-based data collected over the past 25 years to develop relevant
medical curriculum and enhance patient care. As TCM becomes ever more
incorporated into Western educational and health systems, it too must
concern itself with providing a solid evidence base to be used in enhancing
patient care and educational curriculum. Computer generated data related to
patient problems or problem complexes abstracted from TCM clinical
records can provide the basis for practitioner development and the
enhancement of training programs that will lead to improvements in patient
care. Such locally valid and representative data can also be used to inform
research programs, public policy and evidence-based commissioning. The
key to developing such systems is standardising TCM terminology and data
collection protocols.
