San Antonio Standard

The VA South Texas Health Care System, subsidiary 671GK in San Antonio, Texas, scheduled 15,067 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 14,956 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.3%) and 111 appointments (0.7%) 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
671	San Antonio	53,593	47,050	6,543
671QB	San Antonio	19,570	12,646	6,924
671BY	San Antonio Eckert Road	17,146	16,655	491
671GK	San Antonio	15,067	14,956	111
671A4	Kerrville	12,616	11,082	1,534
671GO	North Central Federal	10,427	10,021	406
671GP	Balcones Heights	6,471	6,257	214
671GL	New Braunfels	5,460	5,434	26
671GQ	Shavano Park	4,943	4,887	56
671GF	San Antonio	4,533	4,414	119
671GB	Victoria	2,483	2,447	36
671GN	Seguin	1,229	1,223	6
671GH	Beeville	169	164	5
671BU	San Antonio	77	77	0
671PA	San Antonio SARRTP	10	10	0
671DT	Unknown	6	6	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration