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Sunday, November 24, 2024

VA Central Arkansas HCS facilities schedule 107,903 medical appointments in April 2020

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The VA Central Arkansas Health Care System Arkansas scheduled 107,903 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 98,350 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.15%) and 9,553 appointments (8.85%) 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 Central Arkansas Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in April
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Little Rock, AR (John L. McClellan)38,80134,0094,792
North Little Rock, AR (Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center)38,95735,3683,589
Mountain Home, AR4,2914,105186
El Dorado, AR2,3602,29565
Hot Springs, AR7,2226,692530
Mena, AR1,3821,36814
Pine Bluff, AR2,8302,76664
Searcy, AR3,4993,45346
Conway, AR6,2766,052224
Russellville, AR2,2582,21642
Little Rock Main Street, AR27261

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