Large language models (LLMs) primarily trained on English texts, often face
biases and inaccuracies in Chinese contexts. Their limitations are pronounced
in fields like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where cultural and clinical
subtleties are vital, further hindered by a lack of domain-specific data, such
as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To address these issues, this paper introduces
Hengqin-RA-v1, the first large language model specifically tailored for TCM
with a focus on diagnosing and treating RA. We also present HQ-GCM-RA-C1, a
comprehensive RA-specific dataset curated from ancient Chinese medical
literature, classical texts, and modern clinical studies. This dataset empowers
Hengqin-RA-v1 to deliver accurate and culturally informed responses,
effectively bridging the gaps left by general-purpose models. Extensive
experiments demonstrate that Hengqin-RA-v1 outperforms state-of-the-art models,
even surpassing the diagnostic accuracy of TCM practitioners in certain cases.