Abstract
The policy on the promotion of herbal medicine has not yet achieved the target. To achieve the goal,
knowing health care professionals’ views on herbal medicinal products and on the national policy which aims to promote the utilization of herbal medicine in health care facilities is crucial. This study used
qualitative methods. Focus group interview among the frequent user group and in-depth interviews among
occasionally user group were conducted. The results of this study can be divided into 3 parts. 1) Views on
herbal medicinal products: lack of confidence on the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicinal products
is found, the appearance and other characteristics of herbal medicinal products are not attractive, herbal
medicinal products are more expensive than western medicine. 2) Views on the national policy to promote
the utilization of herbal medicinal products in healthcare facilities: The set target in terms of expenditure
of herbal medicine products of 25% of the total drug expenditure for every healthcare facility is
difficult to accomplish. Furthermore, there are no practice guidelines and clear strategic plan to support
the policy. 3) Views on impeding and facilitating factors influencing the utilization: key impeding factors
were the criteria on reimbursement of herbal medicinal and confidence in the quality and manufacturing
standards. The key facilitating factor was the presence of key person who was able to promote the use of
herbal medicine in hospitals. Findings from this study would be used to develop the effective strategies to
accomplish the policy aims at promoting the use of the herbal medicine in the future.
