Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GL in Palatka, Florida scheduled 3,377 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,329 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.6%) and 48 appointments (1.4%) 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 who 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	59,902	55,123	4,779
573BY	Jacksonville	42,810	37,629	5,181
573GI	The Villages	30,712	29,108	1,604
573GF	Tallahassee	27,304	26,126	1,178
573A4	Lake City	17,304	16,024	1,280
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	14,362	13,284	1,078
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,561	11,073	488
573GD	Ocala	10,053	9,641	412
573GE	Saint Augustine	9,649	9,244	405
573QD	Gainesville	7,086	6,912	174
573QH	Ocala	5,138	4,703	435
573GA	Valdosta	5,030	4,883	147
573QE	Gainesville	4,825	4,550	275
573QK	Lake City	4,347	4,340	7
573GJ	St. Marys	4,041	3,910	131
573GL	Palatka	3,377	3,329	48
573GM	Waycross	3,251	3,196	55
573GK	Marianna	3,138	3,129	9
573QC	Gainesville	1,646	1,043	603
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	1,161	1,097	64
573GN	Perry	615	613	2
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	70	70	0
573QF	Gainesville	31	24	7
573GG	Lecanto	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration