Traditional Chinese Internal Medicine

1、Overview of the Specialty

The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine was established in 1956 and is one of the earliest general hospitals in China to establish a specialty in traditional Chinese medicine. Under the leadership of the hospital Party Committee and administrative departments, and through the unremitting efforts of several generations, the Department of Traditional Chinese Internal Medicine has achieved leapfrog development in its construction scale, medical services, specialty structure, academic standards, talent development, and medical equipment. It has achieved remarkable accomplishments in medical care, teaching, and scientific research, and has now become a comprehensive department with distinctive diagnostic and treatment features, a well-structured academic echelon, and integrated medical care, teaching, and scientific research.

The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine adheres to the proper handling of the relationship between inheritance and innovation. While inheriting the advanced experience of traditional Chinese medicine, it actively utilizes modern science and technology to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine and realize its modernization. In recent years, it has focused on developing the specialties of traditional Chinese medicine for spleen and stomach disorders and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, as well as a specialized outpatient clinic for traditional Chinese medicine oncology, striving to establish a demonstration unit for traditional Chinese medicine departments in national general hospitals.

2、Talent Structure

The Department of Traditional Chinese Internal Medicine has a strong talent base and has developed into a high-level group for medical care, teaching, and scientific research, headed by master's degree supervisors and supported by a large number of highly qualified young and middle-aged technical professionals as its backbone, with a complete range of specialties. At present, the department has 8 full-time physicians, including 1 with a doctoral degree, 3 with master's degrees, 2 master's degree supervisors, 3 with senior professional titles, and 4 with associate senior professional titles; senior professional titles account for 87.5% of the total. The department has a well-structured talent echelon. Its academic leaders are in the prime of their careers and are senior professionals recognized in relevant academic fields for their high academic attainments and outstanding achievements, and who have the ability to lead the department in completing its established objectives.

3、Characteristic Therapies of Traditional Chinese Medicine

（1）Large Moxibustion

Large moxibustion differs from ordinary moxibustion. It requires fewer consumables, costs less, and produces more significant therapeutic effects. It is suitable for deficiency-cold disorders of the zang-fu organs that cannot be cured by medication or acupuncture. Selected points include the Back-Shu points along the Bladder Meridian on the back and some points on the Conception Vessel, Kidney Meridian, and Stomach Meridian in the abdomen. After igniting moxa wool, it is placed on the acupoints. Taking advantage of the gentle heat and strong penetrating power of burning moxa wool, this therapy warms the meridians and unblocks the channels, dispels cold and relieves pain, supports the spleen and kidneys, harmonizes yin and yang, and invigorates the body's yang qi. It has significant effects in cases of chronic weakness of the spleen and stomach, failure of middle yang, and chronic diarrhea; yang deficiency conditions such as erectile dysfunction, spermatorrhea, and uterine cold causing infertility due to insufficient kidney essence; and deficiency-cold conditions such as weakness after prolonged illness, insufficiency of lung qi, chronic cough and wheezing, and ankylosing spondylitis.

（2）Acupoint Application

Acupoint application is an external treatment method for treating and preventing disease by applying medicines to specific acupoints of the human body during the summer sanfu days or the winter sanjiu days. Its principle is to take advantage of the favorable conditions of high summer temperatures and abundant yang qi in the body to regulate the body's yin-yang balance, thereby treating in summer certain diseases that commonly occur in winter; alternatively, during the winter sanjiu days, the optimal period when “vitality lies dormant and yang qi begins to emerge,” it preserves and stores yang qi. It is therefore also called the “sanfu plaster” or “sanjiu plaster.” This therapy has few side effects, low cost, and is simple to perform, safe, and effective. It is mainly suitable for chronic and stubborn deficiency-cold disorders that tend to recur or worsen during autumn, winter, and spring, such as respiratory diseases including chronic cough, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and allergic rhinitis; gynecological diseases including irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, leukorrheal disorders, and chronic cervicitis; children with deficient constitution who are prone to colds, children with recurrent respiratory tract infections, and children with chronic diarrhea; and diseases including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and pain in the neck, shoulders, lower back, and legs.

（3）Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Acupuncture and moxibustion is also one of the therapeutic methods of traditional Chinese medicine. In addition to conventional acupuncture, in recent years our department has also introduced therapies such as balance acupuncture and Dong's Extraordinary Points. Through the conduction effects of the meridians and acupoints, these therapies maintain the dynamic yin-yang balance of the human body and treat diseases throughout the body. Our department uses acupuncture and moxibustion to treat wind-cold-dampness bi syndrome, such as lumbar muscle strain, low-back and leg pain, periarthritis of the shoulder, hyperosteogeny, and lumbar disc herniation; stomach pain and diarrhea caused by excessive cold in the spleen and stomach; prolonged diarrhea and enuresis due to spleen-kidney yang deficiency; and sequelae of stroke, among other conditions, achieving good therapeutic results.

4、Medical Technology

By implementing dynamic scientific management and putting into practice the medical service philosophy of “patient-centeredness and medical quality as the core,” the department has achieved simultaneous gains in quality and efficiency. In 2015, the number of outpatient visits increased to more than 100,000, and the number of discharged patients reached more than 2,000; both have increased at a rate of nearly 10% annually. The average outpatient and inpatient costs have decreased year by year, while the distinctive advantages of traditional Chinese medicine have been fully utilized and the level of medical care continuously improved.

5、Scientific Research and Teaching

In recent years, the department has undertaken 1 project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and more than 20 scientific research projects commissioned by local governments and public institutions and enterprises at the provincial and municipal levels; it has received more than 20 provincial- and municipal-level scientific research awards; and it has served as chief editor or associate chief editor of more than 10 books. In recent years, it has published a total of more than 50 academic papers in publicly available domestic academic journals and carried out more than 10 new technologies and projects.

In teaching practice, the department adheres to development and innovation and undertakes undergraduate, postgraduate, and international student teaching and clinical instruction for the School of Medicine of Qingdao University, providing 560—620 teaching hours each year. It has held continuing medical education courses and academic exchange activities at various levels on numerous occasions.

6、Patient Visit Guide

（1）Department Location

Outpatient: Shinan Campus: 3rd floor, Outpatient Building

Laoshan Campus: 2nd floor, Inpatient Building

West Coast Campus: 3rd floor, Outpatient Building

Inpatient: West Coast Campus: 20th floor, Building A of the Inpatient Building

（2）Consultation Telephone Numbers

Shinan Campus: 82911214

Laoshan Campus: 82913068

West Coast Campus: 82919151