Twenty years of traditional and complementary medicine regulation and its impact in Malaysia: achievements and policy lessons

BACKGROUND: Many countries are trying to integrate traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) into their health care systems. However, it is not easy to integrate T&CM within a given health care system. This study aims to draw policy outcomes and lessons from the case of Malaysia, which has been making efforts for over 20 years to integrate various types of T&CM into the national health care system (NHS). METHODS: Documents were searched in major databases and websites using words such as Malaysia and T&CM, and additional documents were secured using snowballing techniques. Data were classified and organized according to the World Health Organization health systems framework. RESULTS: Malaysia has focused on managing the safety and quality of T&CM, and to that end it has been institutionalized by enacting specialized laws rather than by applying existing medical law directly. Malaysia was able to institutionalize T&CM by adopting a step-by-step approach that considered the appropriateness of administrative policies and measures. CONCLUSIONS: Malaysia's experiences in implementing its T&CM policies will raise practical implications for countries struggling to integrate their existing T&CM into the NHS and utilize it for universal health coverage.