West NY News

The VA Western New York at Buffalo Health Care System, subsidiary 528GR in Olean, New York, scheduled 796 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 792 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.5%) and four appointments (0.5%) 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
528	Buffalo	39,068	36,619	2,449
528A4	Batavia	4,439	4,194	245
528GB	Jamestown	1,738	1,717	21
528GC	Dunkirk	1,531	1,522	9
528GQ	Lackawanna	1,463	1,438	25
528GK	Lockport	1,098	1,053	45
528GD	Niagara Falls	1,098	1,086	12
528GR	Olean	796	792	4
528QA	Buffalo	63	63	0
528QB	Packard	50	50	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration