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Friday, November 22, 2024

VA Atlanta HCS facilities schedule 155,701 medical appointments in March 2021

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The VA Atlanta Health Care System Georgia scheduled 155,701 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 141,734 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.03%) and 13,967 appointments (8.97%) 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.

VA Atlanta Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA60,10652,6367,470
Fort McPherson, GA13,88212,947935
Oakwood, GA7,0916,796295
West Cobb County, GA3,9263,792134
Stockbridge, GA4,2844,093191
Lawrenceville, GA6,7876,543244
Newnan, GA4,7754,69580
Blairsville, GA3,8493,732117
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)6,5915,970621
Rome, GA1,8241,78836
Northeast Cobb County, GA2,5852,444141
Henderson Mill, GA1,6391,518121
Gwinnett County, GA4,1914,063128
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA24,42221,4822,940

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