Starting this September, I'll hold a Friday afternoon clinic at Cheng Te Hospital in addition to my clinic at Taichung Veterans General Hospital (VGHTC), and my clinic hours at VGHTC will also change starting in October. Here's why, and the details.

HospitalClinic DaySession
Taichung VGHMon & ThuMorning
Cheng Te HospitalFriAfternoon

Cheng Te Hospital address: 臺中市南屯區文心南五路三段100號 (Open in Google Maps).

My clinic at Taichung VGH is already running at close to full capacity. As more patients come to see me, some end up waiting from morning until evening just to review test results — something I've always felt bad about.

So I've been thinking about how to see more patients within limited clinic hours while still holding to the standard of care I want to provide — having enough time to understand each person's concerns, complete the necessary evaluation, and decide together on the most appropriate next step. Going forward, I'd like to spread patients more evenly across the two hospitals.

For patients whose condition is stable, who need long-term follow-up, or for whom getting to VGHTC is inconvenient because they live in the city or have transportation or mobility constraints, there will now be an additional option closer to town. The Cheng Te clinic will handle general orthopedic, spine, and joint evaluations and follow-up care; if further surgical treatment is needed after evaluation, it will still be arranged at Taichung VGH for complete surgical and inpatient care.

This arrangement should make return visits more convenient for some patients, while letting VGHTC's limited clinic capacity be used more appropriately for patients who need further testing, surgical evaluation, or more complex treatment.

At the same time, starting in October, my clinic hours at Taichung VGH will change to Monday and Thursday mornings.

If you're used to seeing me in the afternoon, there's no need to worry. Even though the clinic session moves to morning, as before — unless a meeting or administrative duty requires me to close early — I typically continue seeing patients straight through the evening, sometimes into the night. In practice, not much changes.

In short: patients who need VGHTC's resources will continue to be cared for there; patients who are stable, need long-term follow-up, or find VGHTC less convenient now have Cheng Te as an option too. I hope this change gives patients with different needs a more suitable, more convenient way to be seen — and lets me keep holding to the standard of care I've always aimed for, even as my clinic volume keeps growing.