Western doctor promotes Oriental medicine

Raimund Royer

By Yi Whan-woo

Raimund Royer, an Austrian doctor at Jaseng Oriental Medicine International Clinic, says traditional Korean medical methods need more statistical data in order to be scientifically accepted internationally.

According to Royer, scientific data will be crucial for these practices to attract more support from the Seoul government and benefit from medical tourism.

“Scientific evidence is based on statistics, but it’s very difficult to get proper data from traditional doctors,” he said in a recent telephone interview with The Korea Times. “It’s a big issue that has to be solved soon; otherwise it’s very difficult for oriental medicine doctors to survive in the scientific community. They will be less recognized.”

Royer cited long-standing bias among doctors in the Western or modern medical fields over the credibility of oriental medical practices, such as acupuncture and herbal therapy.

“Western medicine treats patients as if they all have the same symptoms. However, traditional medicine is customized,” he said.

“It’s not like in Western medicine where you are given a painkiller if you have a headache. If somebody has a headache, we ask what the cause is, such as low energy or too much body heat. As we get a different picture, we use different drugs or acupuncture points to treat the headache.

“So even though the patients have the same symptoms, it might be diagnosed differently, meaning you will be treated differently according to the underlying causes of the pain.

“It’s a very complicated approach. You have limited uses for statistics, but they are internationally recognized.

According to Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of overseas medical tourists is anticipated to hit 250,000 this year, up from 211,218 in 2013.

Royer says more support is needed for traditional Korean medical practices, calling for more scientific data from doctors so the government can promote them.

“Our hospital is specialized in spinal diseases and we have scientific evidence you can trust. You can come here and get the best treatment. But not so many oriental hospitals can offer this kind of evidence.

“I hope that will change in the future and traditional medicine will receive more support from the government.”