Polk Times

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673QC in Lakeland, Florida, scheduled 3,525 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, 3,453 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98%) and 72 appointments (2%) 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
673	Tampa	50,227	46,460	3,767
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	27,949	26,777	1,172
673QJ	Tampa	24,293	23,697	596
673BZ	New Port Richey	15,216	15,076	140
673GB	Lakeland	11,519	11,374	145
673GG	Riverview	9,436	9,139	297
673GC	Brooksville	7,273	7,155	118
673QC	Lakeland	3,525	3,453	72
673QE	Highway Nineteen	3,060	2,822	238
673GF	Zephyrhills	3,039	3,006	33
673QH	Tampa	2,944	2,851	93
673QG	New Port Richey	1,068	1,060	8
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	862	815	47
673QI	Zephyrhills	591	585	6
673QD	New Port Richey	254	253	1
673QF	Tampa	4	4	0
673BV	Tampa	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration