Quantcast

Capital District Times

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Albany Stratton VAMC facilities schedule 16,252 medical appointments in December 2020

Istock 000003255680 medium

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center New York scheduled 16,252 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 15,091 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.86%) and 1,161 appointments (7.14%) 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)12,83011,7531,077
Westport, NY1061060
Bainbridge, NY2552523
Fonda, NY2272252
Catskill, NY2242195
Glens Falls, NY53752710
Plattsburgh, NY45742631
Schenectady, NY5255214
Troy, NY2692672
Clifton Park, NY3032958
Kingston, NY3863806
Saranac Lake, NY13312013

MORE NEWS