Philly Leader

The Philadelphia VA Medical Center, subsidiary 642GH in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania scheduled 879 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 839 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.5%) and 40 appointments (4.6%) 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
642	Philadelphia	70,219	64,361	5,858
642GC	Horsham	11,529	11,151	378
642GA	Marlton	7,875	7,596	279
642GD	Sewell	7,746	7,427	319
642GF	Camden	1,813	1,761	52
642QA	Washington	1,595	1,570	25
642GH	Philadelphia	879	839	40

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration