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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

VA North Texas HCS facilities schedule 190,642 medical appointments in May 2019

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The VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas/Bonham Texas scheduled 190,642 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 177,652 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.19%) and 12,990 appointments (6.81%) 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 May
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Dallas, TX98,95890,4568,502
Bonham, TX (Sam Rayburn Center)16,55115,973578
Fort Worth, TX44,10841,2532,855
Denton, TX6,3096,164145
Decatur, TX1,5551,51540
Granbury, TX1,01599817
Greenville, TX2,3012,27625
Sherman, TX2,6252,55768
Polk Street, TX3,0022,95448
Plano, TX5,7785,604174
Grand Prairie, TX1,5911,57318
Broadway, TX6,8496,329520

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