NE Oklahoma News

The VA of the Ozarks Health Care System, subsidiary 564GE in Jay, Oklahoma, scheduled 997 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 955 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.8%) and 42 appointments (4.2%) 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	22,941	20,673	2,268
564BY	Springfield	21,250	19,728	1,522
564GC	Branson	6,565	6,286	279
564GF	Joplin	3,114	2,816	298
564GB	Fort Smith	2,308	2,201	107
564GA	Harrison	1,529	1,450	79
564GE	Jay	997	955	42
564GD	Ozark	538	504	34
564QB	Sunbridge	135	120	15
564QA	Township	3	2	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration