East PDX Today

The Portland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 648GE in Fairview, Oregon, scheduled 1,593 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,524 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.7%) and 69 appointments (4.3%) 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	32,521	27,266	5,255
648A4	Portland Vancouver	11,187	9,542	1,645
648GB	Salem	4,632	3,666	966
648GA	Bend	2,866	2,436	430
648GG	West Linn	2,283	2,235	48
648GF	Hillsboro	2,000	1,818	182
648GE	Fairview	1,593	1,524	69
648GJ	The Dalles	1,079	1,043	36
648GI	Portland	265	226	39
648GH	Newport	152	138	14
648GD	Warrenton	63	63	0
648BU	Vancouver	8	8	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration