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Syracuse Sun

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Syracuse VAMC facilities schedule 87,918 medical appointments in October 2019

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The Syracuse VA Medical Center New York scheduled 87,918 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 81,810 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.05%) and 6,108 appointments (6.95%) 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.

Syracuse VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in October
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Syracuse, NY46,84343,1193,724
Auburn, NY1,7691,72742
Tompkins County, NY2,0181,98335
Massena, NY3,0433,01627
Rome, NY (Donald J. Mitchell)8,7448,182562
Binghamton, NY7,6647,460204
Watertown, NY5,2775,18592
Oswego, NY2,4702,45515
Erie West, NY4,2383,976262
South Salina, NY1491472
Erie East, NY4,2853,2301,055
Watertown 2, NY1,4161,32888

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