Where to even begin..... I guess we can start with the parking, there isn't any available unless you get there before 7:00AM or you follow some poor soul who just had the life sucked out of him back to his car.
Wait times just to get into the actual waiting lines are ridiculous, let alone the time you will spend waiting for a provider. If you do or dont have an appointment, more then likely your visit to VA hospital is going to be half day to an entire day event depending on what you need. I even had a doctor tell me today that "I was lucky I could just walk into a hospital and see a doctor with out an appointment". This doctor has spent her entire life in government healthcare and clearly hasn't visited a private practice at all during her professional adult life.
The biggest tragedy involves the same doctor I mentioned above named Dr. Donnely. Long story short is I have been on a maintenance medication for close to seven years now. I was diagnosed with this dis order three times, two times by civilian doctors and one time by the Army. One would think that three diagnosis and paperwork to support that would warrant evidence that you do in-fact suffer from the said disorder. Well it turns out it does not for the VA or Dr. Donnely who proceeded to interrogate me about my past and why I was on the medication. Not one time did she ever ask me "whats wrong and how can we help you today". It felt as if I had committed a crime of some kind and was being investigated and then told I didn't know what I was talking about and that my past doctors didn't either. Needless to say I was refused a refill of my prescription until I was "re-diagnosed" for the same disorder I have had for a decade. Being upset I went to the patients advocate and filed a complaint. Literally all the patient advocate did was send the very same doctor that I clearly had an issue with and had no desire to actually help me a message on the computer. Of course her response was the same she gave to me.
Now I am stuck in a situation where I cant even apply for civilian based medical assistance because I am eligible for VA benefits. However the VA system cant provide the medical care that I need. I ended up having to pay a ridiculous amount of money to see a civilian doctor and get the prescription filled that route (which took only an hour from the second I walked into the door until I was out the door with exactly what I had asked the VA for over a two day span).
If your thinking the VA healthcare system is a good alternative to private practice medicine, your dead wrong. I would strongly advise you only sign up for VA medical benefits if you have absolutely no other options. Even if your work has a high copay or a deduction plan for their healthcare, it will make up for it ten fold in efficiency and quality of care you receive.