Syracuse Sun

The Syracuse VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528GP in Oswego, New York scheduled 2,308 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,291 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.3%) and 17 appointments (0.7%) 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
528A7	Syracuse	44,581	39,642	4,939
528GM	Rome	8,822	8,272	550
528GN	Binghamton	6,942	6,618	324
528GO	Watertown	5,293	5,210	83
528QG	Erie West	3,446	3,198	248
528QI	Erie East	3,230	2,445	785
528GL	Massena	2,747	2,704	43
528GP	Oswego	2,308	2,291	17
528QN	Watertown	2,247	2,096	151
528G9	Freeville	2,047	2,017	30
528G5	Auburn	1,600	1,556	44
528QH	South Salina	49	49	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration