Santa Fe Standard

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501GK in Santa Fe, New Mexico scheduled 3,070 pending appointments in October compared to 2,860 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this October, 2,964 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.6%) and 106 appointments (3.4%) 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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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 New Mexico Health Care System - 501GK Appointments Scheduled in October 2019 vs. October 2018

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in October 2019	Total Appointments Scheduled in October 2018	Percent change in number of appointments
501	Albuquerque	65,200	62,245	4.7%
501G2	Las Vegas	962	921	4.5%
501GA	Artesia	1,891	1,122	68.5%
501GB	Farmington	2,548	2,001	27.3%
501GC	Silver City	812	341	138.1%
501GD	Gallup	1,073	1,181	-9.1%
501GE	Espanola	510	1,110	-54.1%
501GI	Alamogordo	1,568	1,415	10.8%
501GJ	Durango	1,628	1,844	-11.7%
501GK	Santa Fe	3,070	2,860	7.3%
501GM	Rio Rancho	5,534	4,746	16.6%
501GN	Taos	863	951	-9.3%
501HB	Raton	601	518	16%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration