Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GL in Palatka, Florida scheduled 3,375 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,328 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.6%) and 47 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	59,994	55,307	4,687
573BY	Jacksonville	43,292	38,031	5,261
573GI	The Villages	30,905	29,363	1,542
573GF	Tallahassee	28,059	26,757	1,302
573A4	Lake City	17,283	15,860	1,423
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	14,128	13,107	1,021
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,587	11,160	427
573GD	Ocala	10,102	9,658	444
573GE	Saint Augustine	9,620	9,369	251
573QD	Gainesville	7,129	6,938	191
573QH	Ocala	5,198	4,741	457
573GA	Valdosta	4,950	4,780	170
573QE	Gainesville	4,766	4,583	183
573QK	Lake City	4,490	4,485	5
573GJ	St. Marys	3,943	3,810	133
573GL	Palatka	3,375	3,328	47
573GM	Waycross	3,240	3,194	46
573GK	Marianna	3,050	3,033	17
573QC	Gainesville	1,632	1,058	574
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	1,186	1,121	65
573GN	Perry	626	623	3
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	81	81	0
573QF	Gainesville	35	23	12
573GG	Lecanto	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration