NE Nashville News

The Tennessee Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 626GP in Gallatin, Tennessee scheduled 2,127 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,075 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.6%) and 52 appointments (2.4%) 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	60,163	54,658	5,505
626A4	Murfreesboro	49,258	46,283	2,975
626GF	Chattanooga	19,304	18,236	1,068
626GE	Clarksville	14,741	12,868	1,873
626QC	Chattanooga	6,587	5,971	616
626QB	Charlotte Avenue	6,376	6,185	191
626GJ	Hopkinsville	5,273	4,798	475
626GC	Bowling Green	4,778	4,612	166
626GO	International Plaza	4,741	4,526	215
626GH	Cookeville	4,589	4,420	169
626GM	Columbia	4,333	4,257	76
626QA	Albion Street	3,777	3,541	236
626GK	McMinnville	2,448	2,428	20
626GN	Athens	2,274	2,143	131
626GL	Harriman	2,228	2,150	78
626GP	Gallatin	2,127	2,075	52
626GG	Tullahoma	1,243	1,231	12
626GA	Dover	1,110	1,075	35
626MA	IDES Fort Campbell	348	348	0
626QD	Murfreesboro	288	274	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration