Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621BY in Knoxville, Tennessee scheduled 19,221 pending appointments in December compared to 16,200 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this December, 18,807 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.8%) 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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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.

Mountain Home VA Medical Center - 621BY Appointments Scheduled in December 2019 vs. December 2018

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in December 2019	Total Appointments Scheduled in December 2018	Percent change in number of appointments
621BY	Knoxville	19,221	16,200	18.6%
621GA	Rogersville	2,001	1,077	85.8%
621GC	Norton	2,283	2,197	3.9%
621GG	Morristown	2,737	2,715	0.8%
621GI	Sevierville	5,103	4,576	11.5%
621GJ	Bristol	4,248	3,905	8.8%
621QA	Jonesville	510	475	7.4%
621QB	Marion	452	369	22.5%
621QC	Vansant	257	230	11.7%
621QD	Knoxville	975	1,019	-4.3%
621QE	Knoxville	831	1,400	-40.6%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration