Georgia Mountain News

The VA Atlanta Health Care System Georgia scheduled 211,657 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 196,038 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.62%) and 15,619 appointments (7.38%) 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	86,303	78,407	7,896
Fort McPherson, GA	19,891	18,682	1,209
Oakwood, GA	10,656	10,284	372
Austell, GA	5,492	5,459	33
Stockbridge, GA	10,898	10,793	105
Lawrenceville, GA	10,609	10,351	258
Newnan, GA	6,785	6,746	39
Blairsville, GA	4,374	4,349	25
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	7,897	7,600	297
Rome, GA	2,596	2,511	85
Northeast Cobb County	794	788	6
East Point, GA	460	426	34
Henderson Mill, GA	1,755	1,751	4
Fulton County, GA	198	198	0
Gwinnett County, GA	4,216	4,178	38
Atlanta-Arcadia Avenue, GA	38,733	33,515	5,218