Ft Worth Times

The VA North Texas Health Care System, subsidiary 549BY in Fort Worth, Texas scheduled 45,614 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 42,284 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.7%) and 3,330 appointments (7.3%) 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
549	Dallas	103,856	95,168	8,688
549BY	Fort Worth	45,614	42,284	3,330
549A4	Bonham	17,001	16,439	562
549QC	Tyler	8,007	7,670	337
549GD	Denton	7,929	7,701	228
549GL	Plano	6,139	5,994	145
549GJ	Sherman	3,338	3,285	53
549GK	Dallas	3,250	3,189	61
549GM	Grand Prairie	2,385	2,359	26
549GH	Greenville	2,285	2,191	94
549GE	Decatur	1,602	1,581	21
549GF	Granbury	1,056	1,020	36

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration