WHO's principal current objectives in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are to provide normative and country programe support so that member states can ensure appropriate, safe and effective use of TCM / CAM. Which is as the same as our country policy of Medicine. After implementation of national health Insurance in Taiwan from 1995, people taking chinese and western medicine at the same period increased, most Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) provided in combination with orthodox medicine, requiring phsicians and pharmacists to pay attention to adverse interaction between herbal medicine and western medicine. Herbal medications contain many active components, yet most patients believe these products are mild and safe, and they do not tell their physicians about taking these products. In addition, physicians seldom ask their patients about herbal medicines they may be taking, making the study of herb-drug interaction more difficult. In this study, we will investigate and follow-up study 200 patients of renal disease,diabetes mellitus, liver disease and hypertension, whose behavior forward taking medicine, in order to understand the characteristics of patients who follow both western and herbal medicine practices. While the database has set then we will study the concurrent use of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) with western medicine in the patients with renal disease,diabetes mellitus, liver disease and hypertension. An epidemiology of hypertension on mid-Taiwan will also investigated.
