raditional and Natural Medicine is an important component of humanity’s cultural wealth.  Each region and country of the world has developed its on version, with particular characteristics, depending on the idiosyncrasies of their inhabitants and the resources available to them. Thus, these therapies have evolved slowly, but supported by practical experience.

In Cuba, there is a national tradition in the use of medicinal plants, reaching its maximum expression in the work of the sage Juan Tomás Roig Mesa. However, no such tradition existed regarding the methods and techniques of Asian medicine.

Not until the 1960s was acupuncture applied in Cuba, and then only in individual and isolated cases, until the eighties, when the first plans to develop Traditional and Natural Medicine (TNM) were formulated by the Ministry of Public Health.  The results of the initial program were considerable, especially in the realm of herbal medicine.

As a result of the development of TNM the world over, new and more modern therapies were added to the older forms of treatment.  Thus, Cuban health authorities decided to implement a national Program for the Development and Generalization of Traditional and Natural Medicine.

General Objectives

The primary aim of the Program is to offer the technical basis for developing TNM throughout Cuba, to contribute to improving the quality of medical care in the country and patient satisfaction with the health services they receive.

Definition

TNM is a broad-spectrum speciality, which approaches health problems in a comprehensive and holistic manner, using the methods of health promotion, prevention of disease, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients common to Traditional Asian Medicine (such as acupuncture in its various forms, moxibustion, massage and traditional exercises, cupping glasses, relaxation exercises and hypnosis), Natural Medicine (diet therapy, phytotherapy, apitherapy, etc.) and therapeutic procedures of other specialties such as Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.  It also includes homeopathy and other therapies with natural elements, such as floral therapy, thermalism and medicinal mineral baths, mud therapy, ozine and the use of magnetic fields and other sources of natural energy.

Basic Principles

• TNM is a medical specialty recognized by the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, as a function of the needs identified by the country’s health services.
  
  
• NTM does not constitute an alternative or complementary therapeutic method, to solve problems of an economic nature.  Rather, it is a discipline within medical sciences that requires profound study and continued practice in the country, even after current shortages (of medications) are resolved.
  
  
• Sufficient scientific and technical bases must be created to facilitate incorporation into all levels of health care of the techniques, methods and procedures of this discipline; requiring considerable training of human resources as well.
  
  
• The process of incorporating and developing TNM techniques, methods and procedures in the national health system will be accomplished by first scientifically validating each of these.
  
  
• All the units and institutions offering medical services will participate in the Program.
  
  
• The Program requires establishing and developing a technical and material basis facilitating the use of TNM methods and procedures.
  
  
• Clear requirements will be established for training of personnel, as well as for quality control of production of medications and patient care.
  
  
• The Program will include a database of statistical and technical-scientific information designed to
  facilitate its evaluation, as well as to publicize its results.
  
  
• The Program will be responsible for determining the lines of scientific research in the TNM field.
  
  
• For the above-mentioned purposes, Centers for Comprehensive Development of Traditional and Natural Medicine will be set up at the municipal, provincial and national levels, which will apply TNM techniques and procedures.

TNM Activities throughout the National Health System

These activities can be broken down by type and also by location, based on the underlying principle that the quality of work in the field should be carefully monitored, and TNM therapies available nationwide.

Thus, we find activities related to:

• The production, distribution, prescription and consumption of natural products. 
  
  
• The organization and functioning of TNM services within the network of medical services in the national health system.  Specifically within:
  
  Primary health care services:  family doctor-and-nurse offices, community  polyclinics, and dental clinics.
  
  Secondary health care services:  Comprehensive Centres for the Development of Traditional and Natural Medicine in the Mountains; Municipal Centers for the Comprehensive Developmoent of this Specialty.
  
  Tertiary health care services:  Provincial Centres for the Comprehensive Development of Traditional and Natural Medicine.

• The training of human resources in the field.

• Research along the lines determined by the Progam.

• Publicizing the results and usefulness of the application of TNM.

The Program is controled and evaluated on a quarterly basis,  first by the medical centers themselves at every level of the health system, and then at the ministerial level through the national TNM Division, the office of the First Viceminister of Public Health, and finally at the ministerial level.   The analysis is based on results of inspections during the period and the statistical information recorded, including outcomes.