Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673GF in Zephyrhills, Florida scheduled 3,433 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,363 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98%) and 70 appointments (2%) 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 who 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
673	Tampa	60,374	56,724	3,650
673QJ	Tampa	37,044	35,002	2,042
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	33,269	31,973	1,296
673BZ	New Port Richey	18,883	18,311	572
673GB	Lakeland	13,662	13,487	175
673QH	Tampa	9,454	9,125	329
673GG	Riverview	9,032	8,335	697
673GC	Brooksville	8,906	8,753	153
673QC	Lakeland	4,888	4,421	467
673GF	Zephyrhills	3,433	3,363	70
673QE	Highway Nineteen	3,333	3,018	315
673QD	New Port Richey	1,917	1,452	465
673QG	New Port Richey	1,244	1,218	26
673QI	Zephyrhills	668	664	4
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	596	578	18
673QF	Tampa	10	10	0
673BV	Tampa	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration