Tibetan medicine advanced over past decade

Adhering to an equal emphasis on traditional Chinese and Western medicine, the government of the Tibet autonomous region has increased financial investment, formulated supportive policies and promoted the development of Tibetan medicine over the past decade for the high-quality development of traditional Tibetan medicine, said the region's health commission on Wednesday.

"Tibetan medicine has achieved comprehensive and historic achievements, making positive contributions to the long-term stability and high-quality development of the region's economy and society," Kelsang Yudron, director of the commission, said at a conference on the development of Tibetan medicine.

Statistics from the conference showed that the region has invested more than 900 million yuan ($130 million) over the last decade to improve the service capacity of Tibetan medicine. Five key clinical specialties at the national level, 17 key specialties of the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and 11 key specialties at regional level have been established.

The number of annual outpatient visits to the region's Tibetan hospitals reached 3.34 million last year, and the number of inpatient beds in the region's public Tibetan hospitals has hit 2,895, according to the statistics.

"The region has been making efforts to build new Tibetan hospitals and renovate some existing ones over the past decade, with the region's number of public Tibetan medicinal hospitals reaching 49," said Kelsang Yudron.

"The coverage rate of Tibetan medicine services at community health service centers has increased from 50 percent in 2012 to 100 percent," she said.

"Meanwhile, we also have been supporting social forces to operate medical services in the field, and the number of private Tibetan hospitals has increased from two in 2012 to 13," she added.

Dang Jing, head of the region's education department, said that in recent years, the regional government has supported the collaborative development of healthcare, education, scientific research and Tibetan medicine.

"We have been constructing more Tibetan medicinal cultural heritage bases, digitizing more ancient literature of Tibetan medicine, and promoting the inheritance and protection of Tibetan medicine," said Dang.

Kelsang Norbu, director of the Strategic Investment Department of Ganlu Tibetan Pharmaceutical Co, said one can learn from the conference that the central and regional governments attach great importance to the development of Tibetan medicine.

"We feel we are obligated to make good use of modern science and technology to accelerate the promotion and application of the scientific and technological achievements of Tibetan medicine," said Kelsang Norbu.

"As a Tibetan medicinal company with both Tibetan medicinal herbs and Tibetan medical professionals, we will continue to work hard to adopt Tibetan medicine to safeguard the health of people within the region and all around the world."