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Sunday, November 24, 2024

VA New Jersey HCS facilities schedule 95,345 medical appointments in January 2019

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The VA New Jersey Health Care System New Jersey scheduled 95,345 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 87,908 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.2%) and 7,437 appointments (7.8%) 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 Jersey Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in January
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
East Orange, NJ39,83635,2424,594
Lyons, NJ16,69715,5201,177
Brick, NJ (James J. Howard)18,82717,4851,342
Hamilton, NJ1,8171,79126
Elizabeth, NJ8788762
Hackensack, NJ7,1316,976155
Jersey City, NJ1,1831,1749
Piscataway, NJ1,6631,6621
Morristown, NJ1,3771,35720
Tinton Falls, NJ3,8953,83362
Paterson, NJ1,4121,37339
Sussex, NJ62961910

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