Quantcast

Rochester Reporter

Saturday, November 2, 2024

VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS facilities schedule 70,971 medical appointments in February 2019

Shutterstock 112917010

The VA Western New York at Buffalo Health Care System New York scheduled 70,971 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 67,968 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.77%) and 3,003 appointments (4.23%) 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.

VA Western New York at Buffalo Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in February
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Buffalo, NY53,27050,6302,640
Batavia, NY7,9887,805183
Jamestown, NY1,7731,76211
Dunkirk, NY1,6451,63312
Niagara Falls, NY1,6111,56546
Lockport, NY1,0961,0924
Lackawanna, NY1,5431,47172
Olean, NY1,8231,79231
Buffalo-Main Street, NY1571570
Packard, NY65614

!RECEIVE ALERTS

The next time we write about any of these orgs, we’ll email you a link to the story. You may edit your settings or unsubscribe at any time.
Sign-up

DONATE

Help support the Metric Media Foundation's mission to restore community based news.
Donate

MORE NEWS