Essay Draft 1

Introduction

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) helps to restore the balance of one’s body with the combination of diagnosis, therapy and medication. Mom-and-pop stores, defined as “a small operated business that has minimum amount of employees, has only a small amount of business volume, and is typically not franchised, therefore open for business only in a single location” (Business Dictionary, 2014). Mom-and-pop TCM halls are usually found at the void decks of old HDB flats. They do not have fanciful store layout or colourful signboards.

TCM is no longer a norm among the older generation, but is also increasingly getting recognized by the young and westerners. However, there is still a significant amount of senior citizens who insist on visiting mom-and-pop TCM halls that are not plugged into the digital world despite the dominant presence of modern TCM chains.

Because in Singapore, the group of pioneer generation who still visits mom-and-pop traditional Chinese medicine halls could receive delayed medical treatment and suffer potential health risks due to little or no internet access for practitioners to retrieve the latest medical treatment and medicines, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board (TCMPB) should advocate the use of individual websites as well as to provide technology for practitioners to ensure quality of medicine dispatched.

Problems

With the minimal use of technology and internet access, mom-and-pop TCM halls face a series of threat in the globalizing world. Most mom-and-pop stores are operated by the older generation who have little knowledge on technology and much less on internet. Some of these TCM halls have labels of medicine handwritten and physicians are still scribbling prescriptions with paper and pen. According to Begum (2014), there are still a handful of TCM halls using manual tools to slice the Chinese herbs and traditional weighing scale to weigh the herbs.

Without the use of these basic necessity in the globalizing world, there is a great impact on work efficiency and the end-users of their service, the pioneer generation, are ultimately the ones who suffer from delayed treatment and potential health risks. Handwritten labels may cause confusion with unclear handwriting resulting in wrong herbs being given to patients. More importantly, traditional manual tools may not function as well due to wear and tear over the years, the use of the manual slicing machine and weighing scale may result in wrong dosage or inconsistency in dispatch of medicine to the patients.

In Begum (2014) article on Singapore’s vanishing trades, the photos depict that a mom-and-pop TCM hall is still using handwritten labels for the wooden drawers and medicinal herbs are being stored in metal boxes. In addition, thin papers are used to pack the herbs for patients. This practice brings up another issue, whether or not these herbs are safe for consumption, especially for the old aged.

Another problem faced by these mom-and-pop TCM halls due to the lack of internet access is the inability to retrieve data on the latest information on TCM treatments and medications.              
One example is the recent widespread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) where the Ministry of Health issued the notice on 7^th August 2014. However, without internet access, TCM practitioners in these mom-and-pop TCM halls were not able to receive these information on a timely manner. As EVD is a rare disease that could cause fatal illnesses, mom-and-pop stores who fail to recognize the symptoms and did not refer suspected cases to General Practitioner could bring about potential health risks for patients and themselves. Furthermore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had stated that it is still unclear if TCM is effective against EVD (China Daily, 2014). TCM practitioners who fail to notice the incapability might provide wrong diagnosis and bring about potential health risks for patients.

All in all, the problems faced by mom-and-pop TCM halls are not only on the efficiency of the halls due to the lack of technology, but also the potential health threat to the older generation with the lack of latest medical news or potential treatments and medicines due to the lack of internet access.

Proposed Solution

Although there are limited methods and finances to help mom-and-pop TCM halls transform to global chains, there are still ways to help these mom-and-pop TCM halls to stay relevant and updated on latest medical treatments or medicines.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) could provide minimal grant to introduce technological service to mom-and-pop TCM halls such as computer systems and machines. With the computer systems, physicians are able to key in prescriptions to avoid confusion of handwriting. Furthermore, machines to slice medicinal herbs could reduce chances of wrong dosage of prescription. In order to encourage the use of internet access, TCMPB should advocate the use of individual websites adhering to the guidelines of website usage.

Existing Solution

Currently, there are no TCM halls that had successfully received monetary support from MOH to implement technological service. However, famous global chains such as Eu Yan Sang have proved that implementation of technology and internet could bring the company far. Eu Yan Sang website offers extensive services ranging from clinic locator to online store for their products. In the clinics, Eu Yan Sang uses computer systems to track patients’ records and the use of internet access allows them to receive patients’ inquiries and appointments. A more noticeable effect of the complement of technology and science is the Herb Fingerprinting used by Eu Yan Sang. This machine allows different batches of medicinal herbs to be consistent and eliminate chances of wrong dosages given to patients. 

Eu Yan Sang’s success in six countries has proved that the use of technology as well as internet access was effective in increasing work efficiency, reducing health risks as well as ability to receive the latest medical information. A big organization as such have the financial ability to solve many problems on hand and it might be undeniable that they have is deem as the top-notch facilities available in the traditional Chinese medicine industry.

Conclusion

Without the use of technology and internet access, patients,usually of old age, who visits mom-and-pop TCM halls could receive delayed medical treatment due to work inefficiency, Furthermore, as these TCM practitioners are not able to receive the latest medical news, the health of their patients could be at risks. MOH should provide grants for these mom-and-pop TCM halls to introduce basic technology and internet access so to increase work efficiency. In addition, TCMPB should advocate the use of individual websites to encourage these mom-and-pop TCM halls to stay relevant with the latest medical information. 

However, as these mom-and-pop TCM halls transform to be more modernised and technologically inclined in order to stay relevant with the world, would the this traditional trade be gone in a matter of years?

References
Begum, Nazreen (April 13, 2014). Singapore's Vanishing Trades:  A Traditional Chinese Medical Hall Perspective. Retrieved from http://blog.nus.edu.sg/nm3211/2014/04/13/singapores-vanishing-trades-a-traditional-chinese-medical-hall-perspective/

Business Dictionary.com (2014). mom and pop store definition. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/mom-and-pop-store.html

Eu Yan Sang (2014). Herb Fingerprinting. Retrieved from http://www.euyansang.com.sg/herb-fingerprinting/eyscorporate11.html

Eu Yan Sang (2014). How TCM Works.  Retrieved from http://www.euyansang.com.sg/how-tcm-works/eystcm13.html

Ministry of Health Singapore (August 7, 2014). ALERT: EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE. Retrieved from http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/dam/moh_web/HPP/Main/news/ebola/MOH%20Circular%20No%20%2026-2014%20-%20Ebola%20TCMPs%20English.pdf