East Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GN in Perry, Florida, scheduled 443 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, 443 had a wait time of 30 days or less.

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
573	Gainesville	46,128	42,426	3,702
573BY	Jacksonville	29,995	27,437	2,558
573GI	The Villages	19,657	18,879	778
573GF	Tallahassee	16,817	16,060	757
573A4	Lake City	11,777	10,962	815
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	10,655	10,083	572
573QJ	Jacksonville	8,703	8,213	490
573GD	Ocala	8,595	8,461	134
573GE	Saint Augustine	6,269	6,201	68
573GA	Valdosta	4,125	4,097	28
573QD	Gainesville	3,704	3,619	85
573QK	Lake City	3,667	3,625	42
573QE	Gainesville	3,064	2,954	110
573GJ	St. Marys	2,977	2,936	41
573GL	Palatka	2,720	2,692	28
573GM	Waycross	2,718	2,694	24
573QH	Ocala	2,642	2,591	51
573GK	Marianna	2,407	2,348	59
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	896	831	65
573GN	Perry	443	443	0
573QC	Gainesville	296	127	169
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	44	44	0
573QF	Gainesville	14	2	12
573GG	Lecanto	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration