Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GL in Palatka, Florida scheduled 3,363 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,324 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and 39 appointments (1.2%) 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	59,941	55,135	4,806
573BY	Jacksonville	42,924	37,312	5,612
573GI	The Villages	30,868	29,279	1,589
573GF	Tallahassee	26,868	25,643	1,225
573A4	Lake City	18,106	16,760	1,346
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	13,989	12,978	1,011
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,405	10,791	614
573GD	Ocala	9,935	9,573	362
573GE	Saint Augustine	9,412	8,915	497
573QD	Gainesville	7,046	6,873	173
573QH	Ocala	5,129	4,675	454
573GA	Valdosta	4,960	4,835	125
573QE	Gainesville	4,869	4,499	370
573GJ	St. Marys	3,958	3,816	142
573QK	Lake City	3,950	3,939	11
573GL	Palatka	3,363	3,324	39
573GM	Waycross	3,304	3,234	70
573GK	Marianna	3,078	3,052	26
573QC	Gainesville	1,742	966	776
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	1,146	1,058	88
573GN	Perry	624	623	1
573QF	Gainesville	57	52	5
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	57	56	1
573GG	Lecanto	4	4	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration