SINGAPORE: Five traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) providers have become the first in Singapore to receive accreditation under a new national programme aimed at raising standards and strengthening public confidence in the sector.
From Saturday (Oct 17), TCM service providers and practitioners can apply for accreditation under the voluntary TCM Accreditation Programme, which sets standards in areas such as patient safety, clinical governance, service quality and professional competence.
Announcing the initiatives at the opening ceremony of the 23rd World Congress of Chinese Medicine, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore was taking a practical approach to integrating Western medicine and TCM, while ensuring that treatments are supported by rigorous evidence.
"The question is not whether one system is better than the other," said Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.
"In modern healthcare systems, we explore how each can contribute its strengths, safely and effectively, so that we can complement them for the benefit of patients."
FIVE TCM PROVIDERS ACCREDITED
The five providers that have met the new accreditation standards 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.
They will be granted the Accredited TCM Clinic status, said Mr Ong.
The programme comprises two components: TCM Services Accreditation for service providers and TCM Practitioners Accreditation for individual practitioners.
Service providers will be assessed on areas including governance, hygiene and infection control, equipment and TCM medications.
Individual practitioners will be assessed on factors such as their educational qualifications, clinical experience and professional standing.
The Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore has been appointed as the accrediting body for the programme.
Mr Ong said the accreditation framework was developed with input from the TCM community, including through site visits and mock audits.
Several providers have since strengthened their processes, governance and standards, he added.
Accreditation is voluntary, and registered TCM practitioners and service providers can continue practising or operating regardless of whether they are accredited.
Mr Ong said the aim was to establish accreditation as something "beyond licensing of practice". "It demonstrates a commitment to stronger governance, consistent standards and public confidence," he said.
Accreditation could also create opportunities for practitioners and providers to work with the Ministry of Health (MOH) on future TCM care models and contribute to national healthcare initiatives.
For instance, the Agency for Integrated Care will facilitate more collaborations between Active Ageing Centres and accredited TCM providers to bring TCM closer to the communities they serve.
Kwong Wai Shiu TCM Centre and Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution have already started doing so, said Mr Ong.
MOH is also studying a suggestion to allow accredited TCM practitioners to order X-rays as part of collaborative shared-care arrangements with general practitioner (GP) partners, he said.
Currently, a TCM practitioner who suspects that a patient has a fracture cannot order an X-ray, and must instead advise the patient to visit an emergency department or refer the patient to a Western medicine doctor who can order one.
MORE TCM TREATMENTS COULD BE OFFERED IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS
MOH will launch a second call for proposals under its TCM Integrative Sandbox initiative, with applications open from Nov 3, 2026 to Nov 2, 2029.
The initiative allows public healthcare institutions to test selected TCM treatments for specific conditions in public hospital settings, and determine whether the treatments are safe, clinically effective and cost-effective.
"Treatments that produce such positive results over a period of one to two years can be considered for adoption throughout our healthcare system, and become eligible for financial support," said Mr Ong.
Currently, only acupuncture for neck and lower back pain has gone through such an evaluation process and is offered and subsidised in public hospitals.
The sandbox, first launched in January 2025, received 18 proposals from public healthcare clusters, of which seven acupuncture projects were selected for trials.
The projects include using acupuncture for conditions including post-stroke rehabilitation, cancer-related supportive care for management of pain, insomnia, fatigue and gastrointestinal issues, migraine, knee osteoarthritis, female infertility and drug-resistant epilepsy.
The projects will be evaluated by various public hospitals, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital, National Neuroscience Institute and National Cancer Centre Singapore, said Mr Ong.
Mr Ong said Singapore hopes to go further by supporting the use of Chinese proprietary medicines for purposes such as managing chronic diseases.
He also noted that the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the National Cancer Centre Singapore have expressed an interest in collaborating on integrative medicine.
HEALTHEIR SG-TCM PROOF OF CONCEPT
MOH is also developing a proof-of-concept initiative to explore how TCM practitioners and GPs could work together under Healthier SG, Singapore's national preventive health strategy.
There is a natural connection between TCM and this preventive approach, said Mr Ong, noting that TCM practitioners guide patients on diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications.
"This is where there is a significant overlap between modern Western preventive medicine and the increasing realisation of the importance of social prescription," he said.
MOH received 30 proposals from practitioners following an invitation earlier this year and is shortlisting applications for further discussions.
The ministry aims to launch the Healthier SG-TCM Proof of Concept in the first half of 2027.
Mr Ong noted one in five adult Singaporeans reported having used TCM services, and nearly 40 per cent of them have sought both TCM and Western medicine for the same condition.
"Patients do not seek treatment according to the boundaries of our healthcare system," he said.
"The question before us is whether we leave it to patients, or whether the healthcare system helps patients navigate these choices safely and confidently."
Mr Ong stressed that integrating TCM into mainstream healthcare must not come at the expense of rigorous evaluation.
"We need to examine each use case in integrative medicine and adapt the methodology for building evidence," he said.
"Singapore offers a practical case study, where we respect the different traditions, explore the areas of confluence, build the evidence, uphold high standards and expand what works to improve care for patients," he said.