The need for traditional Chinese medicine morbidity research.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long justified its practice on empirical phenomenology. Questions remain, however, as to the legitimacy of this approach and its relevance to TCM practice and educational developments in the 21st century. General medical practice (GMP) has used practice-based data collected over the past 25 years to develop relevant medical curriculum and enhance patient care. As TCM becomes ever more incorporated into Western educational and health systems, it too must concern itself with providing a solid evidence base to be used in enhancing patient care and educational curriculum. Computer generated data related to patient problems or problem complexes abstracted from TCM clinical records can provide the basis for practitioner development and the enhancement of training programs that will lead to improvements in patient care. Such locally valid and representative data can also be used to inform research programs, public policy and evidence-based commissioning. The key to developing such systems is standardising TCM terminology and data collection protocols.