Knox Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621BY in Knoxville, Tennessee, scheduled 17,444 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, 16,932 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.1%) and 512 appointments (2.9%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	60,930	57,514	3,416
621BY	Knoxville	17,444	16,932	512
621GI	Sevierville	4,401	4,130	271
621GJ	Bristol	2,650	2,594	56
621GG	Morristown	2,314	2,272	42
621QE	Knoxville	2,144	1,828	316
621GC	Norton	2,023	2,016	7
621GK	LaFollette	1,617	1,593	24
621GA	Rogersville	1,582	1,576	6
621QD	Knoxville	677	664	13
621QD	Knoxville	677	664	13
621QA	Jonesville	404	404	0
621QB	Marion	322	315	7
621QC	Vansant	211	210	1
621BU	Mountain Home	62	62	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration