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Texas Medical Group Starts Veterans' Care Registry

AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The Texas Medical Association says it's stepping up to help veterans facing treatment delays from an overtaxed federal Veterans Affairs health care system.

The group of more than 47,000 physicians and medical students is inviting private Texas physicians to sign up if they're willing to see veterans in their offices. The association will share the registry with community groups that work with Texas veterans and with medical directors of VA facilities statewide.

Dr. Austin King, the association's president, said in a statement Tuesday that "America's veterans need health care, so TMA wants to create a system to connect them with Texas physicians who want to help."

King says the association also urges President Barack Obama to turn to private practitioners to augment the VA health care system.

The registry could possibly help a lot of North Texans. Currently veterans trying to get a doctor's appointment in the Dallas-area can expect a wait time 12x's longer than private citizens.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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