Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621BY in Knoxville, Tennessee scheduled 19,221 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 18,807 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.9%) and 414 appointments (2.2%) 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
621	Mountain Home	63,499	61,024	2,475
621BY	Knoxville	19,221	18,807	414
621GI	Sevierville	5,103	4,931	172
621GJ	Bristol	4,248	4,166	82
621GG	Morristown	2,737	2,728	9
621GC	Norton	2,283	2,281	2
621GA	Rogersville	2,001	1,992	9
621GK	LaFollette	1,944	1,932	12
621QD	Knoxville	975	954	21
621QE	Knoxville	831	828	3
621QA	Jonesville	510	510	0
621QB	Marion	452	449	3
621QC	Vansant	257	255	2
621BU	Mountain Home	124	123	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration