The first article, “Local VA officials work on reducing patient wait times,” (DATE AND WHO WROTE IT) details wait times, and the situations that those wait times are a result of, for the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The average wait for veterans to receive primary care at this hospital is 20 days. Some factors that go into this wait time is an increase in veterans making medical appointments, and a series of “no shows”, veterans not showing up to their scheduled appointments and a shortage of medical professionals.

The second article (DATE AND WHO WROTE IT) , “Inaccurate VA wait times preclude thousands of vets from getting outside care, probe finds,” details inaccurate wait times listed in facilities in North Carolina and Virginia. The VA scheduling system said only 10% of veterans had to wait longer than a month for an appointment, when the number was actually 36% of veterans.(DATE AND WHO WROTE IT) ,The third article “Wait times at Colorado VA facilities among worst in the nation, new data show,” states that the average wait time in the Denver VA Medical Hospital is more than 18 days. Throughout the 13 VA hospitals in Eastern Colorado, the average wait time for primary care is more than 12 days, making the area one of the worst in the nation for veteran wait times.

Elswick, Mike. (2017, July 21). Local VA officials work on reducing patient wait times. Muskogee Phoenix. Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/

Slack, Donovan. (2017, March 3). Inaccurate VA wait times preclude thousands of vets from getting outside care, probe finds. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/03/veterans-affairs-inspector-general-widespread-inaccuracies-wait-times/98693856/

Migoya, David. (2017, July 27). Wait times at Colorado VA facilities among worst in the nation, new data show. The Denver Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/colorado-veterans-affairs-facilities-long-wait-time/

Questions:

1. “Report to Congress on the Veterans Choice Program Authorized by Section 101 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014,” and “Department of Veterans Affairs Access Audit System-Wide Review of Access,” are both dated 2014, is there more up-to-date information? It seems that wait times in many cities has grown worse since 2014.
2. Primary care vs specialty care; would specialty care qualify as things such as surgeries? Or is it more specific forms of health care such as physical therapy? Primary care would be regular check ups, dentist appointments, and more common health needs? Do I have this correct?