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Monday, November 18, 2024

Portland VAMC facilities schedule 92,264 medical appointments in June 2019

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The Portland VA Medical Center Oregon scheduled 92,264 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 82,545 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.47%) and 9,719 appointments (10.53%) 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.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Portland VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in June
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Portland, OR50,67544,6945,981
Vancouver, WA16,97015,3741,596
Vancouver, WA - VADOM440
Bend, OR4,8614,371490
Salem, OR7,8886,8701,018
North Coast, OR24823117
Fairview, OR2,9832,89291
Hillsboro, OR4,1783,870308
West Linn, OR2,6682,57890
Newport, OR20517530
Portland-1st Avenue, OR23921524
The Dalles, OR (Loren R. Kaufman)1,3451,27174

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