PRTCM
Professional Register of 
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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The PRTCM is an Irish-based professional body founded in 1983 to promote and protect the professional interests and medical standards of fully qualified practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine throughout Ireland and in the UK, thereby to foster the highest quality of TCM health-care for the public.

It was the first such professional body in Ireland whose members are recognised, for the provision of Acupuncture treatments, by VHI Healthcare, Laya Healthcare, Irish Life Health and the other principal health insurance providers.

This site is designed to provide members of the public with the information they require to select a fully qualified and fully insured practitioner of Acupuncture TCM or, indeed, one of the other TCM therapy options such as Chinese Herbal Medicine or Medical Qigong.

Details about each of the main TCM therapies is provided, as well as information about finding a practitioner, making an appointment, and attending for treatment.

TCM News and Research

Wearing Masks in the Acupuncture TCM Clinic

For new clients it can be quite daunting to form a relationship with me if they cannot see my face, questions and answers can get lost without accompanying facial expressions. Are they smiling, frowning or stony faced beneath the mask? Does the question asked make sense to the client when they cannot see my face?

Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and attending a TCM practitioner for treatment

According to their individual circumstances and the conditions in their clinics, many members of the PRTCM will continue in practice during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, if it is safe and practicable to do so.

World Health Organisation (WHO) and Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has, over the years, provided information about some aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture in its numerous publications.
Last year one of our members gave us some advance notice that the WHO was planning to include traditional medicines in its International Classification of Diseases in 2019.

Irish President Michael D Higgins receiving the PRTCM founder in June 2016

On 3 June 2016, the Founder of the Professional Register of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Prof Tom Shanahan, was honoured to meet the Irish President at the Presidential palace. Tom Shanahan founded the PRTCM in 1983, and since then has been promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine in all its forms, in Ireland, Europe and beyond. During the […]


What is Acupuncture TCM?

Acupuncture is part of an ancient and sophisticated form of medical treatment called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which originated in China but has increasingly spread throughout the world.

It is important to realise that acupuncture is only a part of Chinese medicine - to imagine that Acupuncture is TCM is as mistaken as to imagine that, say, surgery is western medicine.
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Is it safe, is it effective?

In the hands of a fully qualified professional practitioner the use of acupuncture TCM is effective, entirely safe and free of any harmful side-effects. It has stood the test of time over thousands of years and has not been found wanting.

It is safe to say that there is no sick person who cannot be helped by TCM. The extent of this help will depend on a number of considerations.
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Who and What can be treated?

There is no limitation in terms of age, sex, or condition regarding acupuncture treatment. The very young or the extremely old can be treated.

The scope and range of ailments amenable to TCM care is enormous. It treats people who complain of a deficiency or break down in their health. It can focus on physical, psychological, emotional or even spiritual disorders with equal effect.
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Did you know...?

...That Traditional Chinese Medicine is the most widely utilized healing system on this planet, and one of the oldest forms of medicine known to date. .

..That acupuncture's use for certain conditions has been endorsed by the National Health Service of the United Kingdom, the United States National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.

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