Dr. Yi-Jen Hung, Superintendent of Tri-Service General Hospital, and Dr. Wei-Ming Chen, Superintendent of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, signed a memorandum of “Green Channel Collaboration in Heavy Ion Therapy" on February 22, 2024 to build a patient referral channel (green channel) between two hospitals, provide more options for patients, and safeguard the health and welfare of people.

Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Tri-Service General Hospital have a very close historical relationship and in research, education, and talent exchanges. When Taipei Veterans General Hospital was established, all physicians came were graduated from the National Defense Medical Center. Dr. Chih-Teh Loo, the first Superintendent of the hospital, was also the Dean of the National Defense Medical Center, and General Chi-Hsiun Jo, the first Vice Superintendent of the hospital, was the Superintendent of Taiwan Army Hospital (the predecessor of the Tri-Service General Hospital). These facts indicate that both hospitals have had a strong, long-term relationship.

Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Tri-Service General Hospital are subordinates of National Army of Retired Officers and Soldiers Counseling Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, respectively. a memorandum for strategic collaboration between these two medical institutes was signed in 2009 to collaborate on "medical support ", "mutual medical benefits" , "medical resources sharing" , "research studies and professional training", and "joint area disaster prevention". The Green Channel Collaboration in Heavy Ion Therapy memorandum signed by Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Tri-Service General Hospital not only facilitates resources of both veteran and military medical system to expand the medical service network for veterans and serving members under the current collaborative framework, but also build a strong collaboration for further enhancement and exchange between the two institutes.

Superintendent Yi-Jen Hung quote＂It is a great honor to represent Tri-Service General Hospital in signing the collaborative memorandum for a heavy ion therapy green channel with Taipei Veterans General Hospital at such an important time. In addition to providing another advanced and effective treatment option, we can simplify the process through building a green channel under this collaboration and shorten waiting times for patients undergoing heavy ion therap. We understand the advantages of heavy ion therapy, which is able to accurately control the radiation dosage on tumor tissue and decrease damage to normal surrounding tissue. However, heavy ion therapy has some challenges, including higher equipment costs and treatment complexity. Such difficulties have been overcome by Taipei Veterans General Hospital to make heavy ion therapy an important for cancer treatment. We believe such collaboration can bring more tailor-made and effective treatment options for patients so they can beat cancer and live a healthy life.