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Sunday, November 24, 2024

Kansas City VAMC facilities schedule 62,517 medical appointments in February 2019

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The Kansas City VA Medical Center Missouri scheduled 62,517 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 60,555 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.86%) and 1,962 appointments (3.14%) 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.

Kansas City VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in February
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Kansas City, MO43,98742,2661,721
Warrensburg, MO3,2653,24619
Belton, MO1,6801,6719
Paola, KS72170813
Nevada, MO1,3091,3045
Cameron, MO1981980
Kansas City, MO - Mobile4074061
Excelsior Springs, MO1,0701,03634
Johnson County, KS1,4731,44825
Honor, MO7,5847,450134
IDES Whiteman AFB550
Overland Park, KS8188171

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