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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Albany Stratton VAMC facilities schedule 51,536 medical appointments in January 2019

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The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center New York scheduled 51,536 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 48,653 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.41%) and 2,883 appointments (5.59%) 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 January
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Albany, NY (Samuel S. Stratton)35,51232,9302,582
Westport, NY4654623
Bainbridge, NY1,3361,27165
Fonda, NY1,1711,16011
Catskill, NY1,0941,07123
Glens Falls, NY3,1473,09354
Plattsburgh, NY2,0962,06135
Schenectady, NY1,7071,69710
Troy, NY1,0621,0584
Clifton Park, NY1,3871,32859
Kingston, NY1,9561,92333
Saranac Lake, NY6035994

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