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NW Valley Times

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

VA Phoenix HCS facilities schedule 135,952 medical appointments in June 2019

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The VA Phoenix Health Care System Arizona scheduled 135,952 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 126,459 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.02%) and 9,493 appointments (6.98%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning the VA’s data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

VA Phoenix Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in June
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Phoenix, AZ (Carl T. Hayden)69,18362,2286,955
Southeast, AZ23,90622,4441,462
Northwest, AZ14,89814,598300
Show Low, AZ1,6051,475130
Southwest, AZ6,9116,740171
Payson, AZ43441915
Thunderbird, AZ4,7974,619178
Globe, AZ46144318
Northeast Phoenix, AZ2,4402,320120
Phoenix Midtown, AZ11,31711,173144

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