Providence Reporter

The Providence VA Medical Center, subsidiary 650 in Providence, Rhode Island scheduled 54,854 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, 52,174 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.1%) and 2,680 appointments (4.9%) 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 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
650	Providence	54,854	52,174	2,680
650QA	Providence	10,593	10,457	136
650GB	Hyannis	5,111	5,015	96
650GA	New Bedford	4,597	4,444	153
650GD	Middletown	2,725	2,692	33
650QB	Providence	1,031	962	69

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration