Wednesday, 28 November 2001
Source:	South China Morning Post
Topic:	TWGHs Kwong Wah Hospital -
	CUHK Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre

The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) is taking a significant step forward in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by setting up Hong Kong's first-ever Chinese medicine clinical research and services center (CRSC), which is officially open today at Kwong Wah Hospital.

The 1,500-sqaure-metre center, started to serve the community since the 12th of this month, is the collaboration between the Hospital Authority, the Institute of Chinese Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.

"This project laid the foundation for the development of evidence-based research and services on Chinese medicine in Hong Kong," said Mr. Stephen Chow, chairman of TWGHs.

Thanks to its modern facilities and management, it will also beef up the collaboration of Chinese and Western medical methods and help further uplift the recognition of TCM and its practitioners in Hong Kong, he said.

The center, involving a total project cost of around $30 million, consists of the Jockey Club Chinese Medicine Specialist Outpatient Department, the Jockey Club Chinese Medicine Dispensary, Chinese Medicine Day Services Centre and Chinese Medicine Teaching & Resources Centre. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has donated $7.9 million towards the project cost of the Specialist Outpatient Department and the Dispensary.

While the Outpatient Department provides an extensive range of specialized outpatient services and the Day Services Center offers acupuncture and naprapathy services, the dispensary offers three forms of Chinese medicine to patients: concentrated granules dispensed with the aid of computerized system; single herb extracts dispensed with robotic machine; and the conventional raw herbs.

"Traditional Chinese medicine, through its long history of development, must have many good formulae that would be effective in managing human disorders," Mr. Chow said.

"We firmly believe that for certain diseases, with the combined effort of Western medicine and TCM, patients can benefit," he added.

In the past few years, senior staff and management led by the Chairman, Board Members and Chief Executive have visited famous TCM hospitals and medical institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Liaoning and Heilongjiang to acquire knowledge in the operation of TCM hospitals.

"Practical experiences and insights gained from the visits are valuable for the future planning and development of Tung Wah's TCM services," Mr. Chow said.

"Our work in developing TCM services has benefited the most from the synergy between major medical institutions and universities in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong" he continued.

In June, the TWGHs senior delegates also visited the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, the China Medical College & Hospital, and the Taipei Municipal Hospital of TCM in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Tung Wah Group, in partnership with the School of Chinese Medicine and the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong, is also in the process of establishing Chinese Medicine Clinical and Research Centre at Tung Wah Hospital. The project will consist of a Specialist Outpatient Department as well as a Day Service Centre, Dispensary, and the Academic & Support Centre. The expected completion date is mid-2002.

With a history of 131 years, TWGHs is leading the way in the development of TCM in Hong Kong. The medical and health services of Tung Wah are aimed at providing Western and Chinese health care services for the community - free of charge for the needy, as well as expanding services that fall out of the current public health system to cater to the specific needs of the community.

The Group's Chinese medicine service has been in operation since 1870, when the Tung Wah Hospital was established as Hong Kong's first hospital to provide solely traditional Chinese herbal treatment. It was set up with the support of Sir Richard Graves Macdonnell, the then Governor of Hong Kong.

At present, the Group maintains two TCM general outpatient clinics at Kwong Wah Hospital and Tung Wah Hospital. The two clinics provide herbalist and bone setting services with over 400,000 attendances annually. With the support of the Board of Management of Chinese Permanent Cemeteries, the clinic at Kwong Wah Hospital had been computerized and the one at Tung Wah Hospital will be completed soon.

The operation of the new CRSC is fully computerized from appointment, registration, patient record, prescription and dispensing.

The CRSC, partnered with the Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Guangzhou University of TCM, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of TCM, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou and the Shanghai University of TCM and Pharmacology will initiate a series of clinical research projects.

There is also a Resources Centre inside CRSC which is equipped with a modern computer network system that can get access to current Chinese Medicine literature from China and Tawian on an unceasingly on-demand basis. The CRSC Resources Centre is actively involved in developing Chinese Medicine Utility Softwares for use with handheld devices and PDA. Some of the products for Palm OS is available for free download at http://www.twghkwhcrsc.org.

HK plays an important role in the modernization of TCM, Says Professor Leung at CUHK

The SAR's first-ever day services center dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) paves the way for the recognition of TCM as a special branch of medicine in Hong Kong, said Professor Leung Ping-Chung, Chairman of the management committee of the Institute of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Aimed at giving fresh impetus to Chinese medicine service and research, as well as promoting collaboration between Chinese and Western medicine, the Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre (CRSC) will compensate for the inadequacy of Western medicine, Professor Leung said.

He explained: "Although modern medicine has made good use of technology and yielded very successful results, it is still inadequate in many areas, such as viral infections, auto immune diseases, and chronic pain. Better treatment for these diseases may be sought from within the realm of Chinese medicine."

"The establishment of the CRSC will serve as an evidence-based research model for the modernization of TCM in Hong Kong," he continued.

"Hong Kong's competitive edge in the modernization of TCM lies at its commitment to upholding a modern and scientific approach towards medical authentication and evidence-based research," Professor Leung said.

He continued: "The step-by-step process of identifying the right medicinal materials or treatments for research, studying their effects and properties clinically, then extracting useful ingredients from medicinal materials to manufacture drugs will lead to the modernization of Chinese medicine."

"It is a pragmatic and evidence-based approach that all should adopt in the research and development of Chinese medicine."

The TWGHs and the university's Institute of Chinese Medicine (ICM) have been cooperating in the development of TCM since 1998. Based at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the Clinical Trials Section of the ICM is an important research partner of Kwong Wah Hospital.

The Chinese University has been a pioneer in Chinese medicine research for more than two decades. In early 2000, the ICM was set up to pool existing expertise from the Faculties of Medicine, Science, and Engineering to develop evidence-based research.

It has an objective of modernizing TCM and giving it a favourable place in the international medical scene.

Apart from conducting research into diabetes-induced foot ulcers, the section also embarks on research related to hepatitis, lung cancer, asthma, arthritis, chronic pain and other areas.

Since the early 80s, the University has been building a Chinese medicine database to facilitate herbal research. It has also maintained close links with other Chinese medicine research centers in different parts of the world and integrated their useful data into its own database. To date it has set up databases pertaining to the safety and toxicity of Chinese medicinal materials as well as databases for educational purposes.

How it all started

The story of Tung Wah Hospital started in 1870 when a group of prominent Chinese business people laid its foundation. The facility, now stands in Sheung Wan, was officially open in 1872 and provided only Chinese medicine services.

Between 1984 and 1986, many people died of plague - known as "Black Death". As doctors practising Chinese medicine could not sign death certificates, a doctor trained in Western medicine was employed by the hospital to do the job. Thus, doctors in the hospital began to practise and develop Western medicine alongside Chinese medicine in 1898.

Subsequently, Kwong Wah Hospital, at Waterloo Road, Kowloon and Tung Wah Eastern Hospital in Causeway Bay were established in 1911 and 1929 respectively.

The three hospitals were amalgamated into a single entity in 1931 under the management of a Board of Directors, and the name "Tung Wah Group of Hospitals" was adopted since then. The Group was later expanded to five hospitals including TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital and TWGHs Fung Yiu King Hospital.

Commencing on December 1, 1991, under an agreement between the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Tung Wah Board of Directors, the management and control of the Tung Wah's five hospitals has united with HA, which was set up by the Government on 1 December 1990 to manage all the public hospitals in Hong Kong.

Tung Wah also provides free outpatient services in its two Chinese medicine general outpatient clinics that are partially subvented by the Government through the Department of Health in addition to the free out patient services in Western medicine.

Other medical and health services offered by Tung Wah include two Well Women Clinics and the Out-reaching Home Care Services for the Elderly.

CRSC, Kwong Wah and CUHK join hands in TCM clinical researches

The establishment of the Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre (CRSC) at Kwong Wah Hospital is another collaboration between the Tung Wah Group and the Institute of Chinese Medicine (ICM) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The following evidence-based clinical researches projects will be conducted at the CRSC, at Kwong Wah Hospital in the coming months:

• Acupuncture in the treatment of stroke patients
• Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
• Effect of scalp and body acupuncture on Parkinson's disease
• Integrated traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer research project
• Effect of acupuncture on patients with osteoarthritis knee
• Modes of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain
• Acupuncture in the treatment of childhood perennial allergic rhinitis
• Effect of Yun Zhi and Dan Shen extracts on serum cytokines of postmenopausal women with breast cancer
• Effect of acupuncture on facial palsy

In addition to conducting research projects, the CRSC will join hands with Tung Wah's five hospitals and the ICM of The Chinese University of Hong Kong to organize the 2nd TWGHs - CUHK Eddie Wang Symposium on Complementary Chinese and Western Medicine - Integrated Approach.

The symposium, to be held between November 29 and 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will further explore the integration of Western medicine with Chinese medicine and to provide chances for experts to exchange their knowledge, experience and expertise in Chinese medicine.

Medical experts from around the world will be participating in the event. Topics include cancer treatment, dementia, haematology, evidence-based research and free paper presentation.

State-of-the-art facilities at the Centre

Hong Kong is the very essence of the marriage of East and West, uniting Western technological competence with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) civilization that dates back thousands of years.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art software system, the Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre (CRSC), is set to serve the Hong Kong community with modernized TCM specialist services.

As all patients' records will be stored in a computerized registration system, every returning patient to the center for follow up will not need to present his/her previous prescription, which is an usual practice in TCM clinics.

The beauty of this computer system is that besides patient's records, all prescription details will be keyed into the computer that is linked up with the dispensary. To provide more convenience to the patients, all patients will receive a clear and tidy prescription print out. The Chinese medicine dispensary at the CRSC is first of its kind in Hong Kong that the whole operation is computerized. The only activity there that involves manual operation is when the dispensers have to pick, and weigh the herbs manually according to the computer print out prescription.

The Resource Centre also provides journals, books and other literatures related to Chinese medicine. All information can be downloaded from the computers. In the near future, the computer system at the information center will linked up with renowned TCM institutions and universities in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Not to be missed is the CRSC's herbal green with footpath and pond that features an extensive array of local herbs. They are planted and decorated in such a way that a serene environment is provided for those visiting the center. These herbs, either in floral or grass form with information printed on labels, provide sensual enjoyment as well as education to visitors.

The CRSC Resources Centre is equipped with a modern computer network system that enables the CRSC to read full text of over ten thousand volumes of classical and modern Chinese medicine books in China and Taiwan. The CRSC Resources Centre is actively involved in developing Chinese Medicine Utility Sofewares for used with handheld devices and PDA. Some of their products for Palm OS is available for free download at http://www.twghkwhcrsc.org

Opening Hours:	Mon - Fri	9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
		2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
	Sat	9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Telephone: 2268 2626

Fax: 2268 2628

Address: 25 Waterloo Road, Kwong Wah Hospital

Web site: www.twghkwhcrsc.org

Special thanks go to Eu Yan Sang (H.K.) Ltd., PuraPharm International (HK) Ltd., Sanjiu Botanical Ltd. and Fujitsu Hong Kong Ltd. for their sponsoring part of the supplement costs.