NE Oklahoma News

The Muskogee VA Medical Center, subsidiary 623GB in Vinita, Oklahoma, scheduled 2,616 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,609 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.7%) and seven appointments (0.3%) 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
623	Muskogee	24,405	22,691	1,714
623BY	Tulsa	20,890	19,893	997
623QB	Tulsa Eleventh Street	3,928	3,735	193
623QC	Tulsa	3,287	3,087	200
623GB	Vinita	2,616	2,609	7
623GA	McAlester	2,087	2,045	42
623QA	Muskogee East	1,175	1,167	8
623GC	Idabel	983	962	21

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration