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Traditional Chinese Medicine in Connected Health – Medical and Regulatory Approach (Preprint)


 BACKGROUND
 Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has specific diagnostic procedures such as pulse and tongue diagnostics. It uses herbs and medicines derived from animals and minerals, acupuncture and tai chi to treat or prevent health problems. The TCM is widely used in patients and healthy subjects for prevention. The TCM could be included into the connected health (CH) concept which also analyses health. A holistic approach to the patient in TCM could integrate to the data already existing from Western medicine in platforms for data analysis and those collected by different technological devices. This will also facilitate evidence-based TCM making the TCM more securely used and clear benefits of it could be better shown. Further, the TCM medicines used could be more researched and new medicines developed. Regulation, surveillance, traceability of the origin of the TCM medicines improves safety, quality, and efficacy. This paper examines and describes the possible implementation of CH concept in the TCM and feasibility of it on artemisinin as an example. This way the holistic approach of the TCM will be also compared with the Western medicine and possibly their synergistic effects for more efficient patient management recognized including prevention of different diseases by implementing them into the CH and into the everyday practice.
 
 
 OBJECTIVE
 The objective is to analyze possibilities for introducing the TCM concept into the CH with the purpose to add value to the CH concept regarding the holistic approach.
 
 
 METHODS
 Our literature search comprised a PubMed and Internet search of any scientific publications, secondary references and so-called grey literature, a search of government official websites and websites of TCM organizations to collect data in a systematic manner. Due to the different reliability of data sources, a classification was developed and implemented.
 
 
 RESULTS
 TCM is used as an additional method only in cases when the problem cannot be solved with the Western medicine. Practitioners are often not secure in application of the TCM methods and doubt their efficiency despite that it is older than the Western medicine and, in some cases, even more efficient. In the current period practitioners started using also alternative methods and holistic approaches to manage patients. These facts facilitate inclusion of TCM into the CH concept which also includes health analysis and would benefit from a holistic approach to the patient with the help of different technological devices.
 
 
 CONCLUSIONS
 Although we don't understand some parts and mechanisms of actions of TCM with CH we can improve knowledge by gathering information and this would not only preserve the ancient techniques but also develop newer methods. To allow that possibility regulatory framework for alternative medicine should be adapted.
