Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 178,238 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 166,063 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.17%) and 12,175 appointments (6.83%) 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
San Antonio, TX (Audie L. Murphy)	66,695	61,286	5,409
Kerrville, TX	14,408	13,837	571
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	89	89	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	18,885	18,295	590
Unknown	4	4	0
Victoria, TX	3,181	3,161	20
South Bexar County, TX	4,771	4,736	35
Beeville, TX	271	268	3
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,528	14,437	91
New Braunfels, TX	4,122	4,105	17
Seguin, TX	1,037	1,035	2
North Central Federal, TX	12,849	12,677	172
Balcones Heights, TX	8,203	8,157	46
Shavano Park, TX	5,383	5,364	19
San Antonio SARRTP	75	71	4
Data Point, TX	23,737	18,541	5,196