Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673BZ in New Port Richey, Florida scheduled 19,191 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, 18,702 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.5%) and 489 appointments (2.6%) 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 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	60,166	56,860	3,306
673QJ	Tampa	37,311	35,784	1,527
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	33,488	31,940	1,548
673BZ	New Port Richey	19,191	18,702	489
673GB	Lakeland	13,771	13,593	178
673GG	Riverview	10,297	9,644	653
673QH	Tampa	9,317	9,200	117
673GC	Brooksville	8,919	8,807	112
673QC	Lakeland	5,137	4,734	403
673QE	Highway Nineteen	3,476	3,424	52
673GF	Zephyrhills	3,396	3,330	66
673QD	New Port Richey	2,079	1,799	280
673QG	New Port Richey	1,220	1,194	26
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	735	721	14
673QI	Zephyrhills	658	653	5
673QF	Tampa	13	13	0
673BV	Tampa	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration