TCM for European (and World) Citizens. March 2015 Copyright ETCMA

TCM for European (and World) Citizens March 2015 Copyright ETCMA

ETCMA - European TCM Association Aims and objectives l l l l l To exchange information To develop and promote high standards of education To lobby EU bodies and institutions To promote research To promote recognition of TCM

History of ETCMA l Founded 2001 l 24 TCM member associations l 17 countries in Europe l Representing over 14.000 practitioners

ETCMA members Belgium: Eufom, BAF, ABADiC Czech Rep: CCTCM Denmark: P.A., DA Finland: FinnAcu France: C.F.M.T.C. Germany: AGTCM Greace: HSCM Ireland: IRCHM, AFPA Italy: ASA, OTTO Israel: I.A.T.C.M Netherlands: NVA, Zhong Norway: AF, NNH Poland: PTTMC Romania: TAHH Sweden: SATCM Switzerland: SBO-TCM United Kingdom: BAcC

ETCMA member countries ETCMA members EU (not in ETCMA) March 2015

ETCMA member countries < 100 100-300 300-1 000 1 000-3 000 > 3 000 319 800 285 3287 631 1678 427 1631 41 1012 1046 109 21 3 59 20 366 March 2015

ETCMA practitioner per country 3500 3000 2500 Practitioners member organisations 2000 1500 1000 500 0

TCM for EU (and World) citizens ETCMA desires: l l l l To guide and support EU Member States in the integration of TCM in national health systems To maximize the contribution of TCM to health and increase the social dividend To act as primary consultant to help develop guidelines and policies Help establish a EU guideline on TCM based on facts

TCM for EU (and World) Citizens In accordance with EU Health Strategy Investing in Health l l l l Acupuncture as a cost-effective provision of health service Helps to reduce unnecessary use of specialist and hospital care, e.g. in pain therapy, while improving primary healthcare service Investing in acupuncture optimises the social dividend e.g. in Belgium 84% of acupuncture patients are satisfied with their treatment Acupuncture can play an important role in disease prevention and health promotion in general

TCM for EU (and World) Citizens In accordance with WHO TM Strategy 2014-2023 l l l Medicine, not medicines Based on facts and realities Assist member states to: l Better recognition of what has value l Better policies, education and safety l Better integration, in particular the people-centered integrated health care service l Better care: contribution to universal health coverage

TCM Kongress in Rothenburg

Rothenburg TCM Kongress Aims and ideas behind Strengthening the TCM in Europe, defining its role in public health system Connecting to China and its institutions (SATCM, WFAS, WFCMS, CDUTCM, ZCMU, HuaXia) Part of the European umbrella Organization ETCMA (European TCM Association) Scientific TCM research and training as basis for its future role Knowledge and humanity (able to exchange) as basic principles

Rothenburg TCM Kongress 2015: Participants numbers 1240 (40% MDs, 60% non MDs) all together from 36 countries, since 9 years biggest TCM congress in the Western world Germany 728 Switzerland 147 China 80 Netherlands 90 Austria 32 UK 29 Israel 12 France 11 USA 18 Czech Republic 10 Australia 11 Poland 4 Philippines 1 South Africa 1 South Korea 6 Japan 2 New Zealand 1 Gabon 2

Rothenburg TCM Kongress Cooperatin with WHO on ICD-11 TCM Goes Political workshop European School Leaders Day Science Day Meeting of journalists of TCM magazines Mettings of various interest groups in the TCM field

Contextualization Study the past if you want to define the future. Confucius Bronze and stone needles, used in Shang & Zhou dynasties (1700-771 BC)

Findings: Acupuncture is heterogeneous and pluralistic l Grown gradually, spread out in time and space. l Grown from: - health improvement practices - empiricism - naturalistic philosophies l Socio-cultural circumstances acupuncture. evolution/ devolution of

Acupuncture: heterogeneous and pluralistic l Chinese acupuncture - Classical - Modern l Japanese acupuncture l Korean acupuncture l Vietnamese acupuncture l Western acupuncture

Evidance based practices for TCM

Evidence pyramid Systematic Reviews/ Meta-analyses Randomized controlled trials Cohort trial Patient-controlled trial

The context: what do we know about western medicine? BMJ Clinical Evidence http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/x/set/static/cms/efficacy-categorisations.html

Evolution scientific research into acupuncture

Cochrane reviews Acupuncture is effective for some but not all pain: Positive: - migraine - tension headache - neck pain - peripheral arthritis Recommended: - shoulder pain - tennis elbow - low back pain - assisted reproduction

Results Several countries mention acupuncture in their EBM guidelines: UK: recommends acupuncture for low back pain, migraine and tension headache USA: acupuncture as an Essential Health Benefit in several states (ObamaCare) Belgium: acupuncture mentioned in EBM guidelines on EBMPractice.net

Other indications From RCTs: acupuncture can be efficacious for l Rhinitis l Phantom pain l Hiccup in cancer patients l Depression l Post-traumatic stress syndrome l Recovery from CFS l Autism spectrum disorders l Tooth pain l Labour pain l Dryness of the eyes

Working mechanisms The results suggest that acupuncture activates endogenous analgesia in chronic whiplash patients.

Safety of acupuncture

Cost-effectiveness of acupuncture Syst. review: acupuncture is a cost-efficive treatment for: l Neck pain l Dysmennorhea l Headache and migraine l Low back pain l Osteo-arthritic pain

Conclusions: l Acupuncture is heterogeneous and pluralistic l Exponential increase in research into acupuncture l Acupuncture s efficacy and effectiveness is proven for a number of conditions l Acupuncture is being mentioned in Evidence Based guidelines in a number of countries l Acupuncture is relatively safe and cost-effective

Conclusions: l Cooperation/networking is the precondition for growth of TCM l It is not easy to connect the different societies but separation produces weakness l It is not easy to connect the societies in Europe but it is even harder to connect Asia and Europe, West and East. We shall try harder to connect l Let us not only bridge the gap, lets fill the gap