TY  - JOUR
AU  - Wang, Xiaying
AU  - Lv, Xiaoying
AU  - Malla, Kushal
AU  - Chen, Bingjun
AU  - Pradhan, Saroj
AU  - Bauder, Ralf
AU  - Li, Yiming
AU  - Furian, Michael
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/18
TI  - Implementation of General Consent in Swiss Traditional Chinese Medicine Practices: A Cross-sectional Study
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 017
VL  - 11
IS  - 02
AB  - Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is often applied in isolated TCM practices, making rigorous research and standardized real-world data collection challenging. The purpose of this study was to implement the general consent (GC) in TCM practices, investigate the issue and the acceptance rate of the GC, and the influencing demographic factors. GC forms were distributed to patients before appointments and collected during their first visits. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate demographic factors influencing GC issue and acceptance rates, considering variables such as age, sex, age * sex, and months since implementation. The study enrolled 2,603 patients who sought TCM treatment, of whom 77.5% returned a GC document. Overall, the GC acceptance rate was 1,558/2,603 (59.9%); of those returning the GC, the acceptance rate was 1,558/2,018 (77.2%). The median [IQR] age of patients was 52 years [37, 64], and the number of female patients was around twice that of male patients. Logistic regression analysis showed no association with the GC issue rate for older age (odds ratio, OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.99-1.03, p = 0.474), female sex (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 0.71-2.38, p = 0.387), the interaction between age and female sex (OR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98-1.01, p = 0.379), or months since GC implementation (OR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98-1.01, p = 0.615). Similarly, for the acceptance rate, no effects were observed for older age (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00-1.04, p = 0.120), female sex (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.63-2.46, p = 0.516), or the interaction between age and female sex (OR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.97-1.01, p = 0.243). Months since GC implementation was associated with a slight decrease in acceptance rate over time (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00, p = 0.034). In conclusion, this study successfully implemented the GC in TCM practices and paves the way for real-world studies in the field of TCM. Patient acceptance was high and remained consistent across sex and age.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2602017
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.2602017
ID  - Wang2026
ER  -