TCM · Integrative
When Eastern and Western
medicine work as one.
中西医结合 — China’s national clinical model integrating surgery, pharmaceuticals and TCM in one coordinated plan. Strongest in oncology supportive care, post-stroke rehabilitation, chronic pain and IVF.
Programs
Six integrative programs
open to foreign patients.
Integrative oncology
Surgery + chemo + RT + acupuncture (CINV) + herbal (immune support, fatigue) + qi gong. 6–24 month co-management. Centres: Guang'anmen, Fudan Cancer + Longhua.
$2–6k / month
Post-stroke rehabilitation
Western neurology + physiotherapy + scalp/electro acupuncture + tuina. Standard 4–6 week intensive. Significant motor recovery beyond PT alone.
$3–8k / 6 weeks
Reproductive medicine + IVF
Western IVF + acupuncture (4–8 sessions across cycle) + herbal preparation. Modest improvement in clinical pregnancy rates.
$1–3k adjunct
Chronic pain integrative
Western diagnostics + acupuncture + tuina + selective injection therapy + qi gong. Used pre/post arthroplasty and in chronic back pain.
$1.5–3k / 6 weeks
Cardiac rehabilitation
Cardiology + physiotherapy + qi gong (best evidence) + selective herbal (e.g. Salvia preparations) under supervision.
$1–3k / 8 weeks
Long COVID / post-viral
Multi-modality integrative protocols. China's national Long COVID program runs primarily through TCM hospitals. Growing evidence base.
$1.5–4k / month
FAQ
Integrative care, in plain language.
- What is integrative Chinese and Western medicine?
- Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine (中西医结合, zhōng xī yī jié hé) is China's national clinical model — taught in dedicated 7-year medical degrees, regulated by the State Administration of TCM, and delivered through 4,000+ TCM hospitals plus integrative wards inside virtually every Class A general hospital. It combines surgery, pharmaceuticals and Western diagnostics with acupuncture, herbal medicine, tuina and qi gong in a single coordinated treatment plan.
- Is integrative medicine evidence-based?
- The integration model itself has strong evidence in three domains: oncology supportive care (chemo-induced nausea, fatigue, neutropenia), post-stroke rehabilitation (acupuncture + physiotherapy improves motor recovery), and post-surgical recovery (acupuncture and herbal support reduce ileus, accelerate wound healing). For each condition, individual modality evidence varies — see the conditions page for a graded review.
- What does an integrative oncology program look like?
- At centres like Guang'anmen Hospital (Beijing) the workflow is: (1) Western oncology team confirms diagnosis and prescribes chemotherapy/surgery/radiotherapy; (2) integrative TCM team co-prescribes acupuncture for nausea, herbal formulations to support white blood cell count and reduce fatigue, qi gong for stress; (3) joint case discussions weekly; (4) co-management for 6–24 months including survivorship phase.
- Does integrative care help post-stroke recovery?
- Yes — multiple Cochrane reviews and Chinese national guidelines support acupuncture (electroacupuncture and scalp acupuncture) combined with conventional physiotherapy in subacute and chronic phases. Standard protocol: Western neurology + physiotherapy + acupuncture 5 days/week for 4–6 weeks. Patients typically see meaningful gains in upper-limb motor recovery beyond physiotherapy alone.
- Will my home oncologist accept TCM-supportive treatment?
- Increasingly yes. Major Western cancer centres — MSKCC, MD Anderson, Mayo — operate integrative medicine programs that include acupuncture and selected supplements. The key is documentation: bring an English discharge summary listing every herbal ingredient, all dosing, all interactions screened. Panda Touring Care provides bilingual documentation as standard.
- What conditions does integrative care work best for?
- Strongest evidence: oncology supportive care, post-stroke rehabilitation, chronic pain (musculoskeletal, headache), women's health (menopause, IVF support), digestive functional disorders, and chronic fatigue/post-viral syndromes (including long COVID). Weakest evidence: acute infectious disease, severe psychiatric illness, and conditions requiring urgent surgery.
Build an integrative
treatment plan.
Send your records. We’ll arrange a joint review with a Western specialist and a TCM physician at a Class A hospital, and return a co-signed treatment plan.