NE Oklahoma News

The VA of the Ozarks Health Care System, subsidiary 564GE in Jay, Oklahoma, scheduled 838 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 775 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.5%) and 63 appointments (7.5%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 that cautioned that the VA's data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who do not have service-connected disabilities and earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
564	Fayetteville	24,285	21,812	2,473
564BY	Springfield	21,514	19,950	1,564
564GC	Branson	6,747	6,182	565
564GF	Joplin	3,598	3,234	364
564GB	Fort Smith	2,757	2,629	128
564GA	Harrison	1,533	1,489	44
564GE	Jay	838	775	63
564GD	Ozark	598	506	92
564QB	Sunbridge	168	131	37
564QA	Township	2	1	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration