I applaud the Government's initiative to move the nation towards preventive healthcare (Budget debate: Push to get Singapore residents paired with GPs from 2023, March 10).

I believe the national Healthier SG programme can be taken a step further to bring on board traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians to be considered as family doctors.

TCM is in line with preventive healthcare, as it takes a holistic approach to treating a person as a whole and not just treating the symptoms the person exhibits.

The whole-body approach leads to the prescription of appropriate care, which improves the physical as well as mental health of the person.

In some instances, a person's diet can also be used to complement treatment. When a person's overall well-being is improved, it prevents the person from getting major illnesses down the road.

Over time, the cost burden on the healthcare system will be reduced significantly.

Lim Ee Hong