South Knoxville News

The Tennessee Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 626GL in Harriman, Tennessee scheduled 1,885 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,839 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.6%) and 46 appointments (2.4%) 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 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
626	Nashville	61,345	56,030	5,315
626A4	Murfreesboro	49,016	46,244	2,772
626GF	Chattanooga	18,965	17,744	1,221
626GE	Clarksville	14,787	12,649	2,138
626QC	Chattanooga	6,755	5,827	928
626QB	Charlotte Avenue	6,322	6,244	78
626GH	Cookeville	5,779	5,696	83
626GJ	Hopkinsville	5,349	5,126	223
626GC	Bowling Green	4,821	4,642	179
626GO	International Plaza	4,525	4,357	168
626GM	Columbia	4,255	4,161	94
626QA	Albion Street	3,507	3,326	181
626GK	McMinnville	2,216	2,190	26
626GN	Athens	2,169	2,056	113
626GP	Gallatin	1,936	1,861	75
626GL	Harriman	1,885	1,839	46
626GA	Dover	1,544	1,539	5
626GG	Tullahoma	1,275	1,261	14
626QD	Murfreesboro	347	324	23
626MA	IDES Fort Campbell	49	49	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration