Bulletin No. 2, 2014

16   Chinese University Bulletin No. 2, 2014 Hong Kong’s First Institute of Integrated Medicine Director : Prof. Justin Wu The simultaneous use of Chinese and Western medicine in treating illness is a tradition in Hong Kong. Many patients consult both Chinese and Western doctors in their attempt to get better results. However, a safe and proven treatment model of integrative medicine, and a standard communication channel between Western and Chinese medical practitioners, had yet to be developed. In the area of research, while there had been studies on integrative medicine, results were scattered among different institutions. In view of the rising demand for integrative medicine, CUHK established in September 2014 the Hong Kong Institute of Integrative Medicine (HKIIM), Hong Kong’s first university-run institute that encompasses research, clinical care and education in the integration of Chinese and Western medicine. Through an evidence-based approach, HKIIM aims at understanding and assessing the effectiveness of integrative medicine in treating individual diseases. In addition, it applies research results in clinical practice in order to construct a safe and effective integrative medical care system that will be a model for the local and international community. The institute’s East-West Research and Training Centre for Integrative Medicine actively collaborates with the School of Chinese Medicine, the Institute of Chinese Medicine, and local and overseas institutions in research projects on integrative medicine. Its Integrative Medical Centre operates as a one-stop outpatient clinic that provides quality service to the public. To prepare our students to be capable professionals ready for the global trend of integrative medicine, the University will join hands with the University of Toronto (UT) to launch a student exchange programme on integrative medicine, commencing in 2015–16. Every year, two to five undergraduate students from Chinese Medicine, Medicine or Pharmacy at CUHK will be shortlisted for a placement of between four and 10 weeks at The Centre for Integrative Medicine, jointly established by the UT and The Scarborough Hospital. ‘ The research focus of HKIIM is chronic diseases such as chronic pain condition, functional gastrointestinal disorder, and stroke rehabilitation, whose management by Western medicine alone could be limiting; but for which Chinese medicine could provide alternative treatments. HKIIM will also raise the safety standards of herb- drug interaction in order to set a standard risk management model for interaction between Western and Chinese medicine.’