Plymouth Reporter

The VA Boston Health Care System, subsidiary 523GD in Plymouth, Massachusetts, scheduled 275 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 269 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.8%) and six appointments (2.2%) 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
523	Boston	27,264	24,447	2,817
523A5	Brockton	19,102	18,202	900
523A4	West Roxbury	11,336	9,792	1,544
523BY	Lowell	4,243	3,888	355
523BZ	Boston	1,606	1,509	97
523GA	Framingham	369	355	14
523GD	Plymouth	275	269	6
523GC	Quincy	255	248	7
523MA	IDES Hanscom AFB	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration