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Tucson Standard

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

VA Southern Arizona HCS facilities schedule 93,259 medical appointments in October 2019

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The VA Southern Arizona Health Care System in Tucson Arizona scheduled 93,259 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 87,021 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.31%) and 6,238 appointments (6.69%) 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 October
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Tucson, AZ68,16862,3755,793
Sierra Vista, AZ6,7276,550177
Yuma, AZ5,3275,30324
Casa Grande, AZ3,0172,888129
Safford, AZ46745215
Green Valley, AZ72971118
Northwest Tucson, AZ4,9644,90856
Southeast Tucson, AZ3,8253,79926
IDES Davis-Monthan AFB770
IDES Fort Huachuca28280

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