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Friday, November 1, 2024

VA Pacific Islands HCS facility in Lihue scheduled 1,918 medical appointments in March 2020

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The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, subsidiary 459GD in Lihue, Hawaii scheduled 1,918 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,759 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.7%) and 159 appointments (8.3%) 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.

VA Pacific Islands Health Care System Appointments Scheduled in March
Facility CodeLocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
459Urban Honolulu24,44620,5333,913
459GBHilo3,1902,975215
459GEGuam2,8992,747152
459GGEwa Beach2,8382,714124
459GAKahului2,1822,068114
459GDLihue1,9181,759159
459GCKailua1,6801,493187
459GFAmerican Samoa65057080
459QBKaunakakai79790
459GHSaipan392415
Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration

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