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Thursday, November 14, 2024

Albany Stratton VAMC facilities schedule 54,157 medical appointments in December 2019

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The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center New York scheduled 54,157 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 51,153 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.45%) and 3,004 appointments (5.55%) 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.

Albany Stratton VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in December
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Albany, NY (Samuel S. Stratton)37,60134,9612,640
Westport, NY54053010
Bainbridge, NY86581847
Fonda, NY1,2311,19734
Catskill, NY1,1571,13225
Glens Falls, NY3,3793,30079
Plattsburgh, NY2,2362,21323
Schenectady, NY1,7791,72950
Troy, NY1,00198021
Clifton Park, NY1,6321,59537
Kingston, NY2,1032,07330
Saranac Lake, NY6336258

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