NE Nashville News

The Tennessee Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 626GP in Gallatin, Tennessee scheduled 2,080 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,027 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.5%) and 53 appointments (2.6%) 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 who 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
626	Nashville	61,053	55,485	5,568
626A4	Murfreesboro	49,679	46,839	2,840
626GF	Chattanooga	19,321	18,175	1,146
626GE	Clarksville	14,298	12,367	1,931
626QC	Chattanooga	6,802	6,115	687
626QB	Charlotte Avenue	6,448	6,318	130
626GJ	Hopkinsville	5,401	5,046	355
626GC	Bowling Green	4,934	4,792	142
626GO	International Plaza	4,751	4,534	217
626GM	Columbia	4,280	4,203	77
626GH	Cookeville	4,227	4,092	135
626QA	Albion Street	3,718	3,470	248
626GK	McMinnville	2,365	2,352	13
626GN	Athens	2,179	2,073	106
626GP	Gallatin	2,080	2,027	53
626GL	Harriman	2,080	1,999	81
626GG	Tullahoma	1,254	1,246	8
626GA	Dover	1,192	1,190	2
626QD	Murfreesboro	342	321	21
626MA	IDES Fort Campbell	275	275	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration