Center for Traditional Medicine, Taipei VGH

Feb. 15, 2023

The Acupuncture Research Committee was founded in 1971, renamed the Center for Traditional Medicine in 2007, for the purpose of providing acupuncture services, developing traditional Chinese medicine and integrating Chinese and Western medicine.  In 2002, we offered Chinese herbal medicine service.  In 2005, we outsourced the Chinese herbal dispensing. The Center set up two divisions in 2013: Chinese Medicine Division and Integrative Medicine Division.

The Department experienced four stages of development: 1. Classical period: In this period we read classical Chinese medicine archives, established education courses and identified certain acupuncture points with special effects; 2. Combination with modern medicine period: We explained the meridian system in neuro-humoral view, developed A-Shi point application with myofascial pain syndrome, invented sterilized disposable needles in 1982, which won the Silver Medal at World Invention; 3. Bioenergy period: Our idea of bioenergy came out in 1986 trying to study chi phenomena by measurement of skin electric resistance.  Some alien alternative medicine, such as Kirlian photography and homeopathy, was introduced into Taiwan; 4. History investigation period: We lent the Occidental history of philosophy, science and archaeological development to the textual research of the ancient Chinese philosophy about Nature to expound the origin of acupuncture and the theory of Ying-yang Wuxing.  We also discovered that acupuncture is for therapy of limb joint pain or neurological symptoms while the Chinese herbal medicine is for recuperation of illness of internal organs.     

We offer 20 Chinese herbal outpatient clinics and 20 acupuncture clinics per week. We treat around 7,000 patients per month and have Chinese and Western medicine integrated breast cancer, geriatrics and gerontology outpatient service, and Chinese medicine for gynecology, insomnia or weight control special outpatient services.  In summer, we provide SAN-FU-TIEH paste service.  There are also ear magnetic beads, far infrared and SSP therapies.  We offer consultation services to hospitalized patients with stroke, cerebral injury and cancer while required. 

We hold traditional Chinese medicine courses in Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University and the elective courses built into community medicine courses or for the Chinese medicine association in the school.  We started a 6-credit summer course there in English in 2009 and won highly favorable appraisal from foreign students.  Programs are also open to overseas students or our colleague physicians in the hospital. 

Papers published in previous are mainly on clinical studies, such as the exploration of syncope during acupuncture, brain MRI images after acupuncture, and the use of the National Health Insurance Database to explore the popular pattern of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in Taiwan.