Dear cecil,
In western medicine there is a lack of communication between the patient and doctor.
And there is heavy reliance on medical test rather than what a patient has to say about their body and illness. But I read somewhere that in Chinese medicine there is heavy reliance on the communication with the patient. That besides checking the physical symptoms the chinese doctor spends quality time speaking to patient about their lifestyle, eating habits and bunch of other things relating to their disease before making the final diagnosis. Is this true. Thanks.

Dear Anon,
Yes, in my opinion, quite alot of Chinese doctors, do approach their work in a holistic way. It is also because, the patients are receptive to them and give them lots of respect.
In fact, majority of the time, one reason is because, some of these doctors operate their own pharmacy i.e. or medical hall.
Here, their clinic is like a pharmacy and if they have the time, would explain or at least answer the questions.
In my opinon, we should not say that Western medicine VS Chinese medicine but rather, they can co-exist with each other.
In the past, many people have very high respects for Chinese doctors and this respect gives comfort to many who tend to open up to them.
Warmest Regards,
Cecil

Quote

On 7/19/00 5:47:00 PM, Anonymous wrote:
Dear cecil,
In western medicine there is
a lack of communication
between the patient and
doctor.
And there is heavy reliance on
medical test rather than what
a patient has to say about
their body and illness. But I
read somewhere that in Chinese
medicine there is heavy
reliance on the communication
with the patient. That besides
checking the physical symptoms
the chinese doctor spends
quality time speaking to
patient about their lifestyle,
eating habits and bunch of
other things relating to their
disease before making the
final diagnosis. Is this true.
Thanks.