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The Portland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 648GF in Hillsboro, Oregon scheduled 2,893 pending appointments in March compared to 4,014 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this March, 2,683 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.7%) and 210 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 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 cautioning 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 earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Portland VA Medical Center - 648GF Appointments Scheduled in March 2020 vs. March 2019

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in March 2020	Total Appointments Scheduled in March 2019	Percent change in number of appointments
648	Portland	36,929	53,096	-30.4%
648A4	Portland Vancouver	12,044	16,937	-28.9%
648BU	Vancouver	10	5	100%
648GA	Bend	5,258	4,742	10.9%
648GB	Salem	6,162	7,833	-21.3%
648GD	Warrenton	299	236	26.7%
648GE	Fairview	2,492	3,136	-20.5%
648GF	Hillsboro	2,893	4,014	-27.9%
648GH	Newport	229	211	8.5%
648GI	Portland	165	256	-35.5%
648GJ	The Dalles	1,308	1,407	-7%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration