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Portland VAMC facilities schedule 59,636 medical appointments in March 2021

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The Portland VA Medical Center Oregon scheduled 59,636 pending appointments across its 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 50,350 had a wait time of 30 days or less (84.43%) and 9,286 appointments (15.57%) 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.

Portland VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Portland, OR33,13827,3995,739
Portland Vancouver, WA10,9809,3471,633
Vancouver, WA - VADOM660
Bend, OR (Robert D. Maxwell)2,8982,394504
Salem, OR4,9143,932982
North Coast, OR75741
Fairview, OR1,7481,67375
Hillsboro, OR1,9411,747194
West Linn, OR2,3962,33363
Newport, OR14212418
Portland 1st Avenue, OR26723928
The Dalles, OR (Loren R. Kaufman)1,1311,08249

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