Chinese medicine to be expanded in elder care

The Beijing municipal government has vowed to expand the application of traditional medicine in the elder care services by optimizing institutional management and providing more training to practitioners, officials said at the 2021 Traditional Medicine Culture Summit Forum.

The forum was held both online and offline on Sunday in Beijing as part of the ongoing 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services.

As one of the three traditional medicine-related forums held at the fair, the event focused on the development of traditional medicine culture worldwide. Gathering experts and scholars of different backgrounds, it encouraged joint efforts in traditional medicine's inheritance and innovation.

The training program for traditional medicine practitioners involved in the health and elder care industry, established by the education and training center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, has been held for four years with the support of the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The training textbook for health and elder care by traditional medicine practitioners (primary) was published in 2019 and is used nationwide.

The forum announced it will publish a newly designed color graphic version of the training textbook. Attached with audio and visual resources, it will be published by the People's Medical Publishing House.

A traditional medicine elder care think tank, composed of 39 experts and scholars from across the country, was also launched at the event.

Tu Zhitao, head of the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said there are a number of international organizations and practitioners advocating the application of traditional medicine in elder care services.

Through working with them, they are expecting to break through bottlenecks and solve difficulties.

As an intangible cultural heritage, traditional medicine has evolved through multiethnic medical practice and integrated with overseas culture for a long time.

A list of the top 10 experts in the communication of traditional medical culture in 2021, composed of multinational and interdisciplinary experts, was founded at the forum.

Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, traditional medicine is gaining broader space for development. The forum also saw the establishment of a BRI traditional medicine inheritance and innovation alliance, sending a signal for the sharing of traditional medicine worldwide.