Wichita Standard

The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, subsidiary 589A7 in Wichita, Kansas, scheduled 30,836 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, 28,589 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.7%) and 2,247 appointments (7.3%) 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 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
589A7	Wichita	30,836	28,589	2,247
589QC	South Parklane	5,100	4,535	565
589GW	Salina	3,097	3,052	45
589G7	Hutchinson	2,127	2,115	12
589G4	Hays	1,966	1,750	216
589G2	Dodge City	1,221	1,206	15
589G5	Parsons	770	751	19
589G3	Liberal	335	331	4
589MB	IDES McConnel AFB	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration