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Monday, December 23, 2024

North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS facilities schedule 266,094 medical appointments in September 2019

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The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 266,094 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 249,850 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.9%) and 16,244 appointments (6.1%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains 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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in September
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Gainesville, FL (Malcom Randall)57,76453,9683,796
Lake City, FL18,35817,2281,130
Jacksonville 1, FL43,85038,5555,295
Valdosta, GA4,9774,863114
Ocala, FL10,1229,931191
Saint Augustine, FL8,5638,352211
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)26,57625,799777
Lecanto, FL1,4171,4170
The Villages, FL30,39629,0151,381
St. Marys, GA4,1794,022157
Marianna, FL3,0102,99812
Palatka, FL3,3123,28626
Waycross, GA3,1483,11731
Perry, FL6126102
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL82820
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL1,1601,08476
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL1,6481,132516
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL6,6716,525146
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL5,1064,828278
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL372413
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL14,55313,578975
Ocala West, FL5,2514,720531
Jacksonville 2, FL11,45610,883573
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL3,8463,83313

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