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Kingsport Reporter

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Mountain Home VAMC facilities schedule 102,324 medical appointments in November 2019

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The Mountain Home VA Medical Center Tennessee scheduled 102,324 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 99,211 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.96%) and 3,113 appointments (3.04%) 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.

Mountain Home VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in November
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Mountain Home, TN (James H. Quillen)62,58560,1422,443
Mountain Home, TN - VADOM98971
Knoxville, TN (William C. Tallent)18,72018,365355
Rogersville, TN1,8891,8854
Norton, VA2,2032,2012
Morristown, TN2,6532,64211
Sevierville, TN (Dannie A. Carr)5,0934,944149
Bristol, VA4,0583,98870
Campbell County, TN1,9141,89717
Jonesville, VA5025020
Marion, VA4474452
Vansant, VA2612574
Knox County, TN1,0581,00652
Downtown West, TN8438403

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