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PHX Reporter

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

VA Phoenix HCS facilities schedule 130,385 medical appointments in March 2021

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The VA Phoenix Health Care System Arizona scheduled 130,385 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 117,811 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.36%) and 12,574 appointments (9.64%) 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 March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Phoenix, AZ (Carl T. Hayden)69,43160,0109,421
Southeast Gilbert, AZ26,03524,4741,561
Northwest Surprise, AZ11,69511,163532
Show Low, AZ1,5451,353192
Southwest Phoenix, AZ4,9384,732206
Payson, AZ56252636
Thunderbird, AZ4,2494,085164
Globe, AZ44641234
Northeast Phoenix, AZ2,9112,700211
Phoenix Midtown, AZ8,5738,356217

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