Memphis Standard

The Memphis VA Medical Center, subsidiary 614 in Memphis, Tennessee scheduled 55,147 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 50,004 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.7%) and 5,143 appointments (9.3%) 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 who 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
614	Memphis	55,147	50,004	5,143
614GF	Nonconnah Boulevard	13,265	12,955	310
614GA	Tupelo	5,113	4,908	205
614GE	Covington	5,070	5,008	62
614GB	Jonesboro	3,319	3,209	110
614GG	Jackson	2,801	2,677	124
614GC	Holly Springs	1,459	1,432	27
614GD	Savannah	1,249	1,225	24
614GI	Dyersburg	782	765	17
614GN	Helena-West Helena	756	711	45

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration