Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621QE in Knoxville, Tennessee scheduled 851 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 848 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.7%) and three appointments (0.4%) 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
621	Mountain Home	63,138	60,737	2,401
621BY	Knoxville	18,791	18,440	351
621GI	Sevierville	5,040	4,918	122
621GJ	Bristol	4,048	3,975	73
621GG	Morristown	2,643	2,631	12
621GC	Norton	2,224	2,220	4
621GA	Rogersville	1,924	1,918	6
621GK	LaFollette	1,918	1,896	22
621QD	Knoxville	1,081	1,049	32
621QE	Knoxville	851	848	3
621QA	Jonesville	498	498	0
621QB	Marion	419	416	3
621QC	Vansant	257	253	4
621BU	Mountain Home	100	99	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration