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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Durham VAMC facilities schedule 113,100 medical appointments in March 2021

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The Durham VA Medical Center North Carolina scheduled 113,100 pending appointments across its nine locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 99,764 had a wait time of 30 days or less (88.21%) and 13,336 appointments (11.79%) 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.

Durham VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Durham, NC61,89252,6409,252
Greenville, NC25,97123,6102,361
Raleigh, NC5,6855,377308
Morehead City, NC3,8213,665156
Durham County, NC1,8121,74864
Hillandale Road, NC4,8994,615284
Wake County, NC2,6432,158485
Raleigh-Atlantic Avenue, NC3,8103,589221
Brier Creek, NC1331312

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