An overview on evidence-based medicine and medical informatics in traditional Chinese medicine practice

This chapter describes how best to look at the evidence-base of the rich experience-based disciplines of traditional Chinese medicine in this era of highly advance of biomedicine, science-orientated development and information technology. It is emphasized that there is a need in using modified modalities that can focus on the inclusion of holistic TCM diagnosis and treatment outcomes of individual patients in randomized clinical trial for TCM products studies and that in practice individual patients' reported outcomes linked with biomedical parameters may provide evidence-base treatment efficacy. Using TCM formulae for treatment of female infertility as an example for IT contribution to data analysis, it is suggested that continuing feedback between practitioners in each field will help refining IT analysis of TCM informatics in general.