VA Specialty Clinics: What the VA Offers and How to Find the Right One

This page is not a directory; VA.org keeps no clinic list, and any list would go stale. It shows what VA specialty care exists, which kind of facility has it, and how to use VA's own locator to find the clinic near you.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) describes itself as the largest integrated health care system in the United States: 1,380 health care facilities, including 170 VA medical centers and 1,193 outpatient sites, serving more than 9.1 million enrolled veterans. Not every site offers every service. VA's where you'll go for care page sorts them:

Source: https://www.va.gov/resources/where-youll-go-for-care/, checked September 2026.

The practical rule: primary care lives at a CBOC or medical center; most specialty care lives at the medical center. All of it falls under the medical benefits package in 38 CFR 17.38, which covers outpatient and inpatient "medical, surgical, and mental healthcare."

Every medical center's VA.gov page carries a health services list. The clinic types below are the ones named by VA Pittsburgh and VA Minneapolis, 2 typical large medical centers. Your facility's list may differ.

• Amputation care and prosthetics and rehabilitation
• Audiology (hearing aids and hearing tests)
• Blind and low vision rehabilitation
• Cardiology
• Chiropractic
• Dental and oral surgery (eligibility rules below)
• Dermatology
• Gastroenterology and HIV/hepatitis care
• Geriatrics
• Gynecology and women veteran care
• Hematology/oncology (cancer care)
• Mental health, including PTSD care, military sexual trauma care, psychiatry, psychology and addiction care
• Nephrology (kidney)
• Neurology
• Nutrition and MOVE! weight management
• Ophthalmology and optometry (eye care)
• Orthopedics
• Pain management
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Podiatry
• Polytrauma and traumatic brain injury
• Pulmonary medicine and sleep medicine
• Rheumatology
• Spinal cord injuries and disorders
• Surgery, including transplant surgery at some centers
• Urology
• Wheelchair and mobility clinic

Two specialties have their own eligibility rules. Dental care is limited: VA's dental page restricts it to classes such as a compensable service-connected dental condition, former prisoner of war status, a 100% service-connected rating, or dental trauma from combat or service. Others can buy reduced-cost coverage through the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP). Vision care is broader: VA's vision page says enrolled veterans get routine eye exams, but eyeglasses only in listed situations, such as a service-connected disability, former POW or Purple Heart status, or vision problems from a condition VA is treating.

Mental health is the specialty most veterans can walk into without a consult; the VA mental health services guide covers same-day options. Every VA medical facility also has a military sexual trauma (MST) coordinator, and MST-related care needs no rating or proof of the event.

VA runs a few complex conditions as national systems with regional centers and local teams. You are referred into them; you do not need to live near a center.

Spinal cord injuries and disorders. VA's SCI/D System of Care runs 25 Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Centers in a hub-and-spokes model providing "a coordinated life-long continuum of services," including a comprehensive annual evaluation and local care coordination for veterans who cannot travel.

Polytrauma and traumatic brain injury (TBI). VA defines polytrauma as TBI combined with a significant secondary injury or a mental health condition. The Polytrauma/TBI System of Care has 4 tiers, listed on its care facilities page: 5 Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers (Minneapolis, Palo Alto, Richmond, San Antonio and Tampa) for acute inpatient rehabilitation, 5 transitional rehabilitation programs, 23 Polytrauma Network Sites, 86 Polytrauma Support Clinic Teams and 39 Polytrauma Points of Contact.

Blind rehabilitation. VA's Blind Rehabilitation Service serves eligible veterans and active duty service members with a visual impairment. The entry point is the Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) coordinator at your nearest VA medical center, after an eye exam. VA runs 13 Blind Rehabilitation Centers, inpatient programs that teach mobility, daily living skills, communication and assistive technology.

Prosthetics and sensory aids. VA's Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service supplies artificial limbs and orthotics, hearing aids, automobile adaptive equipment, home improvements and structural alterations, the clothing allowance, and veterinary benefits for service dogs. Items are prescribed by your VA clinician.

Women's health. VA's women's health page lists primary care, reproductive health, breast and cervical cancer screening, maternity care and specialty referrals, with a Women Veterans Program Manager at each medical center to coordinate them. The Women Veterans Call Center is 855-829-6636, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET.

The locator at va.gov/find-locations is the actual directory. VA facility pages such as Puget Sound's describe 3 steps:

1. Enter your city, state or ZIP code.
2. Choose a facility type. Pick VA health facilities for VA-run clinics and medical centers; the same dropdown has options for Vet Centers, urgent care and community providers in VA's network.
3. Choose a service type. The second dropdown lists services; the results show only facilities that report offering that service.

Then open the facility's VA.gov page. Each medical center page has a "Health services" section with a paragraph on every clinic and a phone number, written by the facility itself. If you cannot find a service, call the medical center's main number and ask for the specialty clinic, or call MyVA411 at 800-698-2411 (TTY: 711), 24/7.

Almost all specialty care starts with a consult from your VA primary care team, the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). Your provider enters the consult, the specialty clinic reviews it, and a scheduler contacts you. No assigned provider yet? Start with finding a VA primary care provider; not enrolled at all, the VA health care enrollment guide covers Form 10-10EZ.

The consult process, status checks and what to do when a consult stalls are in the VA referral process guide. The short version: VA's referral page says the review "can take up to 14 days," and if the specialty clinic cannot see you within the access standard below you may qualify to go outside VA.

VA's appointments page notes you can self-schedule online only "the types of care that don't require a referral"; for specialty clinics, wait for the call or check the referral in My HealtheVet on VA.gov.

VA runs 2 kinds of specialty telehealth. From home, VA Video Connect puts you on a video visit with a VA specialist on your own phone or computer. In the clinic, VA's clinic-based telehealth page explains that you go to a VA clinic near you and connect by video, with special devices, to a specialist at another VA facility.

VA's list of telehealth specialties includes cardiology, dermatology, eye care, GI hepatology, hematology, infectious disease, mental health, nephrology, neurology, nutrition, podiatry, pulmonology, rheumatology, spinal cord injury care, stroke, surgery, transplant and wound care, plus rehabilitation services such as amputation care, blind rehabilitation and physical therapy. What your facility offers varies; ask your PACT when the consult is written. The telehealth services guide covers equipment and setup.

Only the specialty-specific community care rules are here. Under 38 CFR 17.4040, the specialty care access standard is an appointment within 60 minutes average driving time of your home and within 28 days of the date of request. Primary and mental health care use 30 minutes and 20 days. VA's community care eligibility page also makes you eligible when "VA doesn't provide the care or services you need at any of its facilities," which is the rule that matters for a specialty your VA simply does not have.

VA must approve the referral first, except for urgent and emergency care. The authorization letter and the Community Care Network are in the VA referral process guide.

Watch out: "My VA doesn't have that clinic" is not the test on its own. The rule VA quotes is care it does not provide "at any of its facilities," so a specialty offered by telehealth or at another VA within 60 minutes may keep you inside VA.

VA's appointment checklist applies: insurance cards, your Veteran Health Identification Card, a current list of every medication and supplement, and "anything that might help your health care team work with you to make treatment decisions." For a specialty visit, add outside test results and imaging. Ask for a copy of the visit note before you leave.

What it costs: per VA's copay rates page, effective January 1, 2026, a specialty care visit carries a $50 copay (primary care $15) unless it is for a rated service-connected disability, your rating is 10% or higher, or another exemption applies. The full copay table is in the VA health care coverage guide.

Bridge to your claim: A specialist's note is often the strongest piece of a disability claim file. An echocardiogram, a range-of-motion measurement, an audiogram or a neurology diagnosis documents the condition in the terms VA's rating schedule uses. If the condition was caused, or made worse, by your service, keep copies; a VA-accredited representative can help you file for free.

States do not run specialty clinics, but many fill gaps around them: state veterans homes for long-term care, county veteran service office rides to a distant medical center, and state brain injury programs open to veterans. Select your state to see what applies where you live.