Page 43 - วารสารกรมการแพทย์แผนไทยฯ ปีที่ 5 ฉบับที่ 2

Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine Vol. 5 No. 2 May - August 2007 ÒÙÒ

Abstract
Evaluation of the Provision of Traditional Thai Medicine Services in Public-Sector Health
Facilities under the Universal Health Security Scheme
Sumneang Ratanawilaiwan
Office of the Health Inspector-General, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health
This study was aimed at evaluating the provision of Thai traditional medicine services in public-sector
health facilities under the Universal Health Security Scheme. It was found that Thai traditional medicine
services in such facilities are under the responsibility of consumer protection working groups, Thai traditional
medicine work, or social medicine work. Most of the health facilities (61.4%) provided four types of Thai
traditional medicine services, while some provide only 1-3 types of services, depending on the readiness of
each facility. The four types of services are 1) sale of herbal medicines and herbal products; 2) massage,
herbal steam bath and hot herbal compress services; 3) training courses on Thai traditional medicine; and 4)
production of herbal medicines and herbal products. Most of the personnel who provide Thai traditional
medicine services are Thai masseurs/masseuses and “ayurvedic” practitioners. Most of the clients were pa-
tients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders requiring Thai massage for therapeutic and rehabilitation
purposes; however, the health promotion and disease prevention services and activities were not well accepted
by the public. The majority of the clients (79.0%) were very satisfied with the services they received. In
addition, people who attended the Thai massage training course used the knowledge gained to take care of the
health of their family and themselves, and as a vocational tool to earn their living. It can be said that Thai
traditional medicine services are a proactive innovation on health care in the country; they involve the social
context, national health policy and the readiness of health-care facilities to support the development of Thai
traditional medicine services, which are regarded as an alternative approach of holistic health care. However,
there are some weaknesses related to manpower in the service system that need to be overcome in terms of
quantity and quality in order to match the requirement for the provision of Thai traditional medicine services
for therapeutic purposes, health promotion and disease prevention. Several strategies are recommended to
successfully integrate Thai traditional medicine into the health service system, namely to advocate that policy
makers make Thai traditional medicine a national strategy, improve the standards of the Thai traditional
medicine training curriculum and strengthen the knowledge of Thai traditional medicine so that it will gain
equal recognition and acceptance by the public and other health-care personnel as does modern medicine.
Last but not least, the structure of manpower must be established and the civil servant positions and fiscal
budget for the salary of workers who provide Thai traditional medicine service in public-sector health facili-
ties must be allocated to support the systematic development of human resources.

Key words: Thai traditional medicine, public-sector health facilities, universal health security scheme