From Slovenj Gradec 1978 to 2026: How Chinese Expertise Brought Acupuncture to Slovenia – and Why Patients Are Still Waiting

A Week That Changed Slovenian Medicine

In February and March 1978, a Chinese medical delegation arrived in the small town of Slovenj Gradec. At the General Hospital and the Gallery of Fine Arts, Chinese professors demonstrated acupuncture directly on patients. Interpreters stood beside them, translating as the techniques were shown and explained. Government representatives from both Yugoslavia and China were present, including the president of the Academy of Traditional Medicine in Beijing. The event had been initiated by the hospital’s director, prim. Drago Plešivčnik, who believed that effective medical knowledge should cross borders.

That week marked one of the earliest official bilateral exchanges of acupuncture with live clinical demonstrations in Europe at the time.

From Demonstration to Clinical Practice

In the years that followed, the knowledge introduced in 1978 took root. The 1978 symposium led to the first formal training programme the following year. In Zagreb, Chinese professors taught a group of Slovenian doctors, again with the help of interpreters. Several of those doctors went on to establish the first dedicated pain clinics (protibolečinske ambulante) in Slovenj Gradec and Ljubljana.

Thanks to the 1978 symposium and the resulting declaration, Slovenia (as part of Yugoslavia) became one of the first countries in Europe to include acupuncture in payable medical services within the public health system as early as 1979. Acupuncture was gradually included in the public health insurance system and became available in the majority of hospital pain clinics across the country.

One of the Slovenian doctors who participated in the 1979 training later wrote about the experience. In a 2009 article published in the Medical Chamber’s journal ISIS, Marija Cesar Komar described how Chinese expertise, delivered through interpreters, helped lay the foundation for acupuncture services in Slovenian hospitals. The approach at the time was pragmatic: knowledge was transferred effectively, even when direct language communication was not possible.

Long Waits in 2026

Nearly fifty years later, the picture is very different. As of June 2026, patients seeking acupuncture or specialist pain treatment in Slovenia’s public hospitals often face extremely long waiting times. Official data from the Ministry of Health’s national waiting-times portal shows waits ranging from several months to well over five years in some locations. In certain hospitals, regular appointments for acupuncture stretch into 2029, 2030, or even 2031. Some centres note that oncology patients receive priority, while others report very limited specialist capacity.

These are not abstract statistics. They represent people living with chronic pain who have limited access to a treatment that was successfully introduced to Slovenia through international cooperation.

A Question of Consistency

This situation raises a clear question of consistency. In 1979, Slovenian doctors were able to learn acupuncture from Chinese professors with the assistance of interpreters. The training was considered successful, and those doctors went on to establish clinical services that benefited patients for decades. Today, however, language requirements and formal recognition procedures often make it difficult for highly trained TCM practitioners to work with Slovenian patients in a similar way.

If interpreters were sufficient for the transfer of clinical skills in 1979, why should patients in 2026 be denied access to the same expertise simply because interpreters or practical regulatory pathways are not in place? The knowledge that was welcomed and adapted in the late 1970s is now constrained by rules that reduce the system’s capacity to deliver it.

An Underutilised Resource

Traditional Chinese Medicine, of which acupuncture is a core component, is used to treat a wide range of conditions beyond pain management. These include digestive disorders, respiratory conditions, gynaecological issues, stress-related problems, sleep disorders, and support for overall wellbeing.

Many TCM practitioners in Slovenia today hold training well above international minimum standards. According to World Health Organization benchmarks, full training in acupuncture typically requires between 1,560 and 2,400 hours. In contrast, many Western medical doctors who incorporate acupuncture into their practice complete significantly shorter postgraduate courses, often ranging from hundreds of hours.

TCM practitioners who have completed comprehensive, multi-year training as their primary profession bring a depth of knowledge that goes beyond the application of needling techniques alone. International guidelines, including those from the World Health Organization, recognize acupuncture as effective or promising for numerous conditions beyond pain, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, postoperative nausea, and the prevention of tension-type headaches and migraines.

These professionals represent a resource that could help address the current shortage of capacity in public pain services — and potentially support care in other clinical areas as well. Their expertise is the direct continuation of the knowledge that arrived in Slovenj Gradec in 1978.

The challenge is not a lack of skilled practitioners. It is the incomplete implementation of a regulatory framework that would allow qualified TCM professionals to contribute more effectively within or alongside the public system.

Closing the Implementation Gap

A law governing complementary and alternative medicine was passed years ago. However, the institutions and clear procedural pathways needed to support it were never fully developed. This gap has left both patients and practitioners in a difficult position. Public waiting lists have grown, while many qualified practitioners remain under-utilised.

SZKMA believes that high professional standards and patient safety must remain central. At the same time, clear and practical rules are needed so that qualified practitioners can help meet real patient demand. Constructive dialogue between the Ministry of Health, healthcare institutions, and professional associations is the most constructive way forward.

Returning to the Promise of 1978

In 1978, Slovenia opened its doors to Chinese medical expertise. Through interpreters and pragmatic cooperation, that expertise was successfully adapted and built upon. The result was new treatment options for patients and the gradual integration of acupuncture into mainstream healthcare.

In 2026, patients at the same hospital in Slovenj Gradec are waiting years for the very treatment that was introduced with such openness almost half a century ago. Qualified TCM practitioners are ready to help close that gap. The question is whether the system will now create the conditions for them to do so.

Sources

• Marija Cesar Komar: Akupunktura, ISIS – Glasilo Zdravniške zbornice Slovenije, April 2009, pp. 67–68.

• Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia: National waiting times portal (Čakalne dobe), accessed 14 June 2026. https://cakalnedobe.ezdrav.si/

• World Health Organization (WHO) benchmarks for training in traditional Chinese medicine and list of conditions for which acupuncture has been shown to be effective.