In the early years, the Clinic was the core of the Center. The Clinic operated in a shared space at the UCLA 200 Medical Plaza. Originally anticipating to serve primarily Asian patients, our clinic has surprisingly attracted mostly patients with non-Asian backgrounds. These patients often come to us after they have exhausted western medical therapies and treatments. The success of our clinic led to a move in late 1998 to our own dedicated space in Suite 208 at Parkside, Santa Monica and subsequently an expansion into Suite 308 in 2003. Today, our Clinic handles approximately 14,000 patient visits per year. Having a successful Clinic as a foundation, Dr. Ka-Kit Hui has initiated an educational arm to teach and influence practitioners to a more holistic way of viewing and treating patients.

With support from many of our colleagues and friends of the Center, the Center launched a series of educational programs. This began with first year medical student course in 1995, annual conference and 4th year medical student course in 1996, resident rotations in 1996, and fellowship in integrative East-West medicine in 1999. Recognized as one of the best elective courses by first year students in 1996, our educational programs are popular amongst medical students and residents alike. Many of our students return at various stages in their career to enhance their knowledge and experience in integrative East-West medicine. Additionally, the Center's international leadership in the field of medicine led to a fellowship sponsored by the World Health Organization in 2000 - 2001. Dr. Hui and the faculty at CEWM have created a unique way of teaching that overcomes challenges of integrating the theory and clinical practice of two very different medical models to achieve positive results in patient care. Our innovative teaching model is described in a paper published in the August 2002 issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine: Research on Paradigm, Practice and Policy.

Today, the Center actively reaches out to diverse groups in our local communities through presentations sponsored by UCLA and other organizations in the public, social, and private sectors. We also participate in health fairs targeting senior citizens and the general public.

The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine is part of the Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine (CCIM), a campus-wide, interdepartmental effort dedicated to the practice, teaching, and science of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine. The Center for East-West Medicine is under the auspices of the Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.