Traditional Thai medicine stems[1][2] from pre-history indigenous regional practices with a strong animistic foundation, animistic traditions of the Mon and Khmer peoples who occupied the region prior to the migration of the T'ai peoples, T'ai medicine and animistic knowledge, Indian medical knowledge (arriving pre-Ayurveda) coming through the Khmer peoples, Buddhist medical knowledge via the Mon peoples, and Chinese medical knowledge (arriving pre-TCM) with the migration of the T'ais who came largely from southern China.
The Seventh National Economic and Social Plan for 1992–1996 stated that "[t]he promotion of people's health entails the efforts to develop traditional wisdom in health care, including Thai traditional medicine, herbal medicine, and traditional massage, so as to integrate it into the modern health service system."
In 1993 the government of Thailand created the National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Health.
These can be understood as follows: Traditional Thai medicine (used as umbrella term for all medicine of Thailand) consists of five primary branches: Licensing and promotion is gaining ground in Thailand due to concerns about quality and safety.
In fiscal year 2013, almost one million people used traditional therapy under the universal health scheme, which partially subsidized the treatments.