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Tucson Standard

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

VA Southern Arizona HCS facilities schedule 90,188 medical appointments in March 2019

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The VA Southern Arizona Health Care System in Tucson Arizona scheduled 90,188 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 84,131 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.28%) and 6,057 appointments (6.72%) 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 Southern Arizona Health Care System in Tucson Pending Appointments Scheduled in March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Tucson, AZ65,53559,7715,764
Sierra Vista, AZ6,1496,05990
Yuma, AZ5,2745,24232
Casa Grande, AZ2,9872,92661
Safford, AZ37236012
Green Valley, AZ1,2641,2595
Northwest Tucson, AZ4,7484,67375
Southeast Tucson, AZ3,8443,82618
IDES Fort Huachuca15150

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