Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621QE in Knoxville, Tennessee scheduled 854 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, 853 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.9%) and one appointment (0.1%) was 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	64,466	62,044	2,422
621BY	Knoxville	19,847	19,432	415
621GI	Sevierville	5,207	5,019	188
621GJ	Bristol	4,379	4,308	71
621GG	Morristown	2,865	2,858	7
621GC	Norton	2,283	2,254	29
621GA	Rogersville	1,961	1,957	4
621GK	LaFollette	1,955	1,935	20
621QD	Knoxville	1,059	985	74
621QE	Knoxville	854	853	1
621QA	Jonesville	489	486	3
621QB	Marion	463	460	3
621QC	Vansant	250	250	0
621BU	Mountain Home	151	151	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration