A new Journal of the American Medical Association report claims that wait times at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics have dropped considerably and, at least in the big cities, are now shorter than you'd find in the private health care market.
Critics complain that the data comes from VA sources, including fired former VA secretary Dr. David Shulkin, claiming the report's conclusions shouldn't be trusted.
The cross-sectional JAMA study of wait-time data from VA facilities and private-sector hospitals focused on primary care, dermatology, cardiology and orthopedics in 15 major metropolitan areas.
You can read more about the AMA study in our news report:
VA Now Has Shorter Wait Times Than Private Clinics, AMA Study Claims
Let's run our own (unscientific) survey with Military.com readers. Have your VA wait times improved from what you saw three years ago? Five years ago? How about 10 years?
If things haven't improved for you, let us know if you've got any concrete ideas about how they could speed things up.
![](http://images04.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2024-11/1time%20cher%20uss%20missouri%201200.jpg?itok=qi9yyMAM "Cher's more formal look in her 1989 music video, "If I Could Turn Back Time," filmed aboard the battleship USS Missouri. (Criteron Studios)")
