VA Pacific Islands HCS facility in Hilo scheduled 1,860 medical appointments in September 2020

The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, subsidiary 459GB in Hilo, Hawaii, scheduled 1,860 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, 1,704 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.6%) and 156 appointments (8.4%) 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 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
459	Urban Honolulu	20,952	17,646	3,306
459GE	Guam	3,135	2,979	156
459GA	Kahului	2,550	2,408	142
459GD	Lihue	1,950	1,819	131
459GG	Ewa Beach	1,887	1,838	49
459GB	Hilo	1,860	1,704	156
459GC	Kailua	1,567	1,432	135
459GF	American Samoa	496	464	32
459GH	Saipan	67	66	1
459QB	Kaunakakai	42	39	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration