When Traditional Medicine Meets AI: Critical Considerations for AI-Empowered Clinical Support in Traditional Medicine

Traditional Medicine (TM) is the oldest healthcare form and has been increasingly adopted as the primary or complementary medical therapy in the world. However, TM’s practical development remains highly challenging. While AI has become powerful in advancing modern medicine, limited attention has been paid to its potential and usage in TM. This study addressed this gap through a probe-based interview study with 16 TM clinicians, examining their experiences, perceptions, and expectations of AI-empowered clinical support systems. Our findings revealed that despite numerous AI-CDS systems, their practical usage in TM settings was still limited. We identified a series of practical challenges when integrating AI-CDS into TM clinical scenarios, largely due to TM’s unique features and the significant data work challenges these features present. We end by critically discussing the potential issues that may arise when integrating AI into practical TM scenarios, and proposing a series of practical recommendations for future studies.