Ministry of Health of Bhutan

i. To provide quality healthcare services in both traditional and modern medicines

ii. To prevent, control, eliminate and eradicate diseases

iii. To rehabilitate and promote healthy living

iv. To ensure sustainable, responsive, equitable, accessible, reliable and affordable health services

Mandate

Inline with the Article 9, Section 21 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan :
“The State shall provide free access to basic  health public”
Ensure access, equity, and quality health services
Core Values

i. Competence: Demonstrate expertise in carrying out the responsibilities and inspire others to have confidence.

ii. Compassion: Promote empathy, support, encouragement, and sensitivity in service provision.

iii. Equity: Promote equity, basic rights, dignity, and access to care.

iv. Economy: Cost-conscious.

v. Integrity: Conduct ethically and with honesty and accountability of service provision.

vi. Professionalism: Demonstrate professional healthcare through positive attitude, actions, and comments.

vii. Quality: Commitment to excellence in service and care.

The advent of Modern Health services in Bhutan

The history of Bhutan’s Health services is the history of two traditions viz..-Traditional and Allopathic medicines. There are few supportive reports of first Indian-trained physicians and paramedics practising and establishing the western medicine in the kingdom in the early part of the twentieth century, but the Sowa Rigpa or the Traditional medicine, the Tibetan methods of medicine was also being practiced in Bhutan as far as the seventh century.

Today, both Traditional and Allopathic methods of medicine are practiced and implemented in the kingdom without any sense of competition and discrimination. The Bhutanese people enjoy and have the right to attend to both types of medicinal treatments, whichever turns out to be the best for his/her disease.

Allopathic/Modern Medicine Practice

There is scant information available on the introduction of the western medicine in Bhutan. The earliest modern medical service in Bhutan was available in Southern Bhutan when Compounder Khoe was posted at Sarpang, but for all the other towns the services of the local tea garden doctors across the border was used maintaining very good personal relations with them.