Tyler Reporter

The VA North Texas Health Care System, subsidiary 549QC in Tyler, Texas scheduled 8,186 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, 7,777 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95%) and 409 appointments (5%) 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
549	Dallas	108,313	99,298	9,015
549BY	Fort Worth	47,125	43,607	3,518
549A4	Bonham	16,893	16,178	715
549GD	Denton	8,357	8,106	251
549QC	Tyler	8,186	7,777	409
549GL	Plano	6,007	5,879	128
549GJ	Sherman	3,829	3,800	29
549GK	Dallas	3,628	3,604	24
549GM	Grand Prairie	2,935	2,907	28
549GH	Greenville	2,354	2,237	117
549GE	Decatur	1,683	1,657	26
549GF	Granbury	949	922	27

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration