Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673QD in New Port Richey, Florida, scheduled 221 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, 217 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.2%) and four appointments (1.8%) 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	51,159	47,175	3,984
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	28,676	26,682	1,994
673QJ	Tampa	24,475	23,605	870
673BZ	New Port Richey	14,950	14,799	151
673GB	Lakeland	11,778	11,637	141
673GG	Riverview	9,494	9,183	311
673GC	Brooksville	7,206	7,085	121
673QC	Lakeland	3,349	3,253	96
673QE	Highway Nineteen	3,147	2,820	327
673GF	Zephyrhills	2,958	2,928	30
673QH	Tampa	2,839	2,726	113
673QG	New Port Richey	978	967	11
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	863	673	190
673QI	Zephyrhills	514	512	2
673QD	New Port Richey	221	217	4
673BV	Tampa	4	4	0
673QF	Tampa	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration