AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ The VA Maine Health Care System fared better than many other facilities in a system-wide audit, but hundreds of veterans still had to wait more than a month for appointments.
A May 14 audit found that 99 percent of doctor visits took place in 30 days or less in Maine. But 664 veterans had to wait more than a month. It also showed that new patients waited 36 days on average, and six had to wait 120 days or more.
All told, 47,698 appointments were scheduled.
Ryan Lilly, health care system director, said Monday that he's pleased with the overall results.
The audit is the first nationwide look at the VA network after an uproar over patients dying while awaiting appointments and of cover-ups at the Phoenix VA center.