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Thursday, November 14, 2024

VA New Mexico HCS facilities schedule 86,696 medical appointments in October 2019

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The VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque New Mexico scheduled 86,696 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 77,340 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.21%) and 9,356 appointments (10.79%) 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.

VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque Pending Appointments Scheduled in October
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Albuquerque, NM (Raymond G. Murphy)64,92556,8328,093
Las Vegas, NM93291913
Artesia, NM1,8911,83754
Farmington, NM2,5682,316252
Silver City, NM82179625
Gallup, NM89180289
Espanola, NM52447450
Truth or Consequences, NM94193011
Alamogordo, NM1,5331,349184
Durango, CO1,6891,66524
Santa Fe, NM3,0572,952105
Northwest Metro, NM5,4535,061392
Taos, NM89884058
Raton, NM5735676

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