Metro West Times

The VA Boston Health Care System, subsidiary 523GA in Framingham, Massachusetts, scheduled 363 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, 328 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.4%) and 35 appointments (9.6%) 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
523	Boston	26,617	23,904	2,713
523A5	Brockton	19,401	18,242	1,159
523A4	West Roxbury	11,006	9,462	1,544
523BY	Lowell	4,272	4,013	259
523BZ	Boston	1,605	1,562	43
523GA	Framingham	363	328	35
523GC	Quincy	322	317	5
523GD	Plymouth	176	164	12

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration