Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621BY in Knoxville, Tennessee, scheduled 17,623 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 17,122 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.2%) and 501 appointments (2.8%) 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
621	Mountain Home	55,254	50,873	4,381
621BY	Knoxville	17,623	17,122	501
621GI	Sevierville	4,590	4,322	268
621GJ	Bristol	3,231	3,196	35
621GG	Morristown	2,388	2,355	33
621GC	Norton	2,012	2,005	7
621GK	LaFollette	1,700	1,692	8
621GA	Rogersville	1,699	1,685	14
621QE	Knoxville	822	822	0
621QD	Knoxville	569	568	1
621QA	Jonesville	447	441	6
621QB	Marion	396	373	23
621QC	Vansant	221	221	0
621BU	Mountain Home	77	77	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration