Mid Valley Reporter

The Portland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 648GB in Salem, Oregon scheduled 8,673 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 7,725 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.1%) and 948 appointments (10.9%) 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
648	Portland	50,987	44,084	6,903
648A4	Portland Vancouver	18,060	16,771	1,289
648GB	Salem	8,673	7,725	948
648GA	Bend	6,170	5,429	741
648GF	Hillsboro	4,483	4,263	220
648GE	Fairview	3,241	3,182	59
648GG	West Linn	2,840	2,787	53
648GJ	The Dalles	1,397	1,369	28
648GD	Warrenton	325	323	2
648GH	Newport	296	241	55
648GI	Portland	246	199	47
648BU	Vancouver	25	25	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration