Mid Valley Reporter

The Portland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 648GB in Salem, Oregon, scheduled 5,917 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,537 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.6%) and 380 appointments (6.4%) 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 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	33,201	28,735	4,466
648A4	Portland Vancouver	10,516	9,979	537
648GB	Salem	5,917	5,537	380
648GA	Bend	5,393	4,470	923
648GF	Hillsboro	2,604	2,447	157
648GE	Fairview	2,520	2,374	146
648GG	West Linn	2,179	2,040	139
648GJ	The Dalles	979	941	38
648GD	Warrenton	233	223	10
648GH	Newport	227	215	12
648GI	Portland	138	124	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration