世界针灸学会联合会

WFAS and SCM co-organise webinar to explore TCM telemedicine strategies for combating COVID-19

author:WFAS source:SCM Click:990 update:2022-09-06
  

From 26 to 27 August, the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) joined hands with the School of Chinese medicine (SCM) at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) to host The 1st International Conference on Traditional Chinese Medicine Tele-healthcare (ICTCMT) . The officiating party of the opening ceremony consists of Professor Liu Baoyan, President of WFAS; Professor Lyu Aiping, Dean of Chinese Medicine of HKBU; Professor Charlie Xue, Associate Vice-Chancellor (International) of RMIT University, Australia; Professor Lao Lixing, President of Virginia University of Integrative Medicine, USA; and Dr. Zhang Shi-ping, Chair of the Organising Committee of ICTCMT and Associate Professor of SCM.

The online event brought together a total of 50 scholars, industry leaders and practitioners from 10 countries to speak on topics such as the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms and post-COVID syndromes, the use of big data and evidence-based practice, quality control and supply chain of herbal products, application of information technology in tele-healthcare, regulatory framework for telemedicine, as well as ethical concerns relating to the practice of telemedicine in Hong Kong and overseas. The webinar attracted more than 5,000 participants online.

Professor Liu Baoyan, President of WFAS, said in his opening remarks: “As a national treasure, Chinese medicine has been introduced to 196 countries and regions. The rapid advancement of wireless communication technology in the 5G era has opened up even more opportunities for Chinese medicine.  As telemedicine takes centre stage during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese medicine has been able to reach more people in a cost-effective and efficient manner.”

Professor Lyu Aiping, Dean of Chinese medicine at HKBU, recalled a series of tele-healthcare initiatives launched by the University earlier this year to circumvent the challenges presented by the fifth wave of the pandemic. Apart from rolling out the “Free Online Consultation Service for COVID-19 Patients” which has benefitted over 41,000 people, the University established the “HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19” to provide a one-stop medical service to the public, and teamed up with the Hospital Authority and Hong Kong Association of Gerontology under a special scheme to offer remote consultation and medicine delivery services to residents and staff members of elderly homes. 

Professor Liu Baoyan had his keynote speech after the opening ceremony. In the presentation entitled The use of Big Data, Internet, Cloud Platform in fighting against COVID-19 with Chinese Medicine, he introduced the practice of Wuchang Mode in Wuhan, 2020. Based on the internet and the organization of communities, it provided a general prescription to the public. He also introduced plenty of online lectures and medical consultations, and used real-world clinical studies to demonstrate the practical effects of acupuncture on COVID-19. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chief Researcher of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Prof. Tong Xiaolin also gave a keynote speech titled State target differentiation and treatment, strategic opportunities of TCM.

With the theme of “Developing traditional Chinese medicine telemedicine strategies to deal with COVID-19 and its sequelae”, the webinar covered many topics, including the application of telemedicine to treat COVID-19, the application of telemedicine to control COVID-19 sequelae, technology and organizational management in telemedicine, legal, ethical and psychological exploration of telemedicine, big data and evidence-based practice, providing a good platform and exchange opportunities for experts and scholars.

Watch playback on: https://wx.vzan.com/live/pc/channel-detail?liveId=1896490570&cid=253655