Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673QG in New Port Richey, Florida, scheduled 1,077 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,064 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and 13 appointments (1.2%) 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 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	44,302	41,542	2,760
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	26,062	25,420	642
673QJ	Tampa	23,697	23,191	506
673BZ	New Port Richey	14,702	14,582	120
673GB	Lakeland	11,210	11,085	125
673GG	Riverview	8,908	8,757	151
673GC	Brooksville	7,005	6,910	95
673QC	Lakeland	3,309	3,235	74
673QH	Tampa	2,997	2,882	115
673GF	Zephyrhills	2,862	2,838	24
673QE	Highway Nineteen	2,771	2,538	233
673QG	New Port Richey	1,077	1,064	13
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	613	607	6
673QI	Zephyrhills	576	573	3
673QD	New Port Richey	156	153	3
673QF	Tampa	5	5	0
673BV	Tampa	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration