San Antonio Standard

The VA South Texas Health Care System, subsidiary 671GK in San Antonio, Texas, scheduled 14,798 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 14,667 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.1%) and 131 appointments (0.9%) 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	56,155	49,326	6,829
671QB	San Antonio	17,080	11,910	5,170
671BY	San Antonio Eckert Road	15,649	15,123	526
671GK	San Antonio	14,798	14,667	131
671A4	Kerrville	12,042	11,087	955
671GO	North Central Federal	11,182	10,689	493
671GP	Balcones Heights	8,021	7,691	330
671GL	New Braunfels	5,633	5,498	135
671GQ	Shavano Park	4,561	4,513	48
671GF	San Antonio	4,448	4,375	73
671GB	Victoria	2,593	2,569	24
671GN	Seguin	1,196	1,187	9
671GH	Beeville	265	260	5
671BU	San Antonio	125	124	1
671PA	San Antonio SARRTP	15	15	0
671DT	Unknown	5	5	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration