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Sunday, November 24, 2024

VA North Texas HCS facilities schedule 207,441 medical appointments in September 2019

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The VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas/Bonham Texas scheduled 207,441 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 194,673 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.84%) and 12,768 appointments (6.16%) 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 North Texas Health Care System in Dallas/Bonham Pending Appointments Scheduled in September
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Dallas, TX107,98999,5058,484
Bonham, TX (Sam Rayburn Center)17,35216,905447
Fort Worth, TX46,36243,5942,768
Denton, TX7,6327,393239
Decatur, TX1,6441,62519
Granbury, TX1,1591,11940
Greenville, TX2,4682,39078
Sherman, TX3,1643,11351
Polk Street, TX3,3113,26744
Plano, TX6,1966,011185
Grand Prairie, TX2,2252,20619
Tyler Broadway, TX7,9397,545394

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