Central Oregon Times

The Portland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 648GJ in The Dalles, Oregon, scheduled 1,041 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, 971 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.3%) and 70 appointments (6.7%) 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
648	Portland	32,963	27,753	5,210
648A4	Portland Vancouver	10,510	9,138	1,372
648GB	Salem	4,693	3,981	712
648GA	Bend	3,587	3,100	487
648GF	Hillsboro	2,102	1,868	234
648GG	West Linn	2,068	1,994	74
648GE	Fairview	1,872	1,820	52
648GJ	The Dalles	1,041	971	70
648GI	Portland	249	216	33
648GH	Newport	147	138	9
648GD	Warrenton	74	74	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration