Realizing the coordinated development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health care resources and regional economy is an important approach to promoting the revitalization of TCM and the integration of medical care and elderly care. This paper, based on the relevant data of the central region from 2018 to 2023, constructs an evaluation index system by using the literature research method and the Delphi expert consultation method. With the help of the coupling coordination degree model and the obstacle degree model, it empirically examines the spatio-temporal characteristics and the root causes of obstacles to the coordinated development of TCM health care resources and regional economy. In 2018, the regional economic level lagged behind the level of TCM health care resources, while in 2023, the regional economic level was superior to the level of TCM health care resources. The coupling coordination degree of the two systems has significantly improved, with an average range of 0.433 to 0.829. The analysis of obstacle factors shows that the insufficient application of TCM resources in elderly care scenarios, the insufficient support of the social security system for health care and elderly care payments, the lack of special financial input for health care and elderly care, and the service-oriented transformation of the industrial structure are the key obstacles to the coordinated development of the two systems. Based on this, policy suggestions are given to provide references for promoting the high-quality coordinated development of TCM health care resources and regional economy in the central region.