NE Valley Times

The VA Phoenix Health Care System, subsidiary 644GG in Scottsdale, Arizona, scheduled 2,917 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,700 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.6%) and 217 appointments (7.4%) 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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.

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 do not have service-connected disabilities and earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
644	Phoenix	68,130	59,360	8,770
644BY	Gilbert	25,844	24,293	1,551
644GA	Surprise	11,079	10,614	465
644GH	Phoenix	9,100	8,887	213
644GC	Phoenix	4,574	4,410	164
644GE	Phoenix	3,944	3,821	123
644GG	Scottsdale	2,917	2,700	217
644GB	Show Low	1,785	1,578	207
644GD	Payson	543	490	53
644GF	Globe	438	405	33

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration