Bringing Thai Traditional Medicine to the People
David Tharp
The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation
Indepth Articles
[Nov. 10, 2008]
National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine
Thailand's top government medical authorities are distributing Thai traditional medicine kits around the country to evaluate their effectiveness in curing household ailments, and bring down the cost of hospital treatment that concentrates on more costly Western medicines.
The trials in various parts of the country are called the "Nippon Method" in reference to a system used in Japan in which traditional medicine kits were distributed throughout Japanese homes, and families only paid for what medicines they actually used -- rather than paying for the whole kit at once.
This pay-as-you-use system proved very popular in Japan, especially for rural dwellers who do not have easy access to hospitals and medical clinics, and has been suggested for use in other Asian countries. The Nippon Foundation is providing the funding for clinical trials of these traditional medicines in Mongolia and now in Thailand.
In Thailand, everyone can receive free medical care from government hospitals. Even if people only have a slight cold or fever they can get care at their local hospital or clinic. However, the cost of providing this medical service has increased a great deal in recent years. Therefore, the Thai health system authorities are attempting to find ways to reduce these spiraling costs.
The "Nippon Method" is being given careful consideration by the Thai government and the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce medical costs in the developing world. Basically, this method is the supply of compact traditional medicine kits to people, especially in rural areas, which contain well known traditional medicines and remedies of a non-emergency type.
A selection of traditional Thai medicines
The Thai health authorities are now in the process of trying this "Nippon Method" by supplying selected towns and villages around the country to test this system of providing traditional medical cures. The traditional medicine kits contain remedies which are considered of good quality, safe, and easy to use.
At this stage, volunteer Thai families are now testing the system in which homes use the traditional medicines in order to treat simple household illnesses. In these trials -- just like the ones in Mongolia -- the Thai families are supplied with a complete medical kit, but are only charged for the contents that are actually used. This sharply reduces the higher price of paying for all the contents at the very beginning.
Every few months a Thai health worker visits each home, checks the kit, and collects money only for the medicines used. If this use of the "Nippon Method" proves successful, then the kits will be distributed to a larger number of people throughout the country. But, at this stage the kit usage and effectiveness of reducing hospital visit care is being carefully analyzed.
At present 12 towns and agricultural villages are being supplied with the traditional medicine kits in Nan, Srakeaw, Khonkhan, and Krabi provinces. Each town or village is provided with 100 medical kits for a total of 1,200 kits nationwide at this time. Each kit's total contents, selected by the Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization, are worth about US$33.
There are between 15-20 traditional remedies for such household problems as the common cold, mild fever, and diarrhea. The kits also contain two booklets to explain: 1) the use of the medicines, and 2) educational advice on home sanitation.
The results of the traditional medicine kit usage are being evaluated by medical experts at Chulalongkorn University, and Mahidol University. This year until the end of June 2009, the 12 cities and villages in the 4 Thai provinces mentioned above will have used the kits for evaluation purposes. It is thought that if the "Nippon Method" actually works in realistic conditions with Thai families, this will be an effective method for reducing overall health care costs around the nation.