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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

VA Northern Arizona HCS facility in Prescott scheduled 11,919 medical appointments in August 2020

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The VA Northern Arizona Health Care System, subsidiary 649 in Prescott, Arizona, scheduled 11,919 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 9,820 had a wait time of 30 days or less (82.4%) and 2,099 appointments (17.6%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that 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 that cautioned that 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 on its website that 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.

VA Northern Arizona Health Care System Appointments Scheduled in August
Facility CodeLocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
649Prescott11,9199,8202,099
649GCLake Havasu City2,7952,646149
649GAKingman1,9641,851113
649GECottonwood1,6331,369264
649GBFlagstaff1,1521,025127
649GDAnthem3603528
649QAChinle1201173
649QHKayenta24240
649QBHolbrook14122
649QFTuba City10100
649QDPage330
Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration

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