Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GL in Palatka, Florida, scheduled 2,745 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,734 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.6%) and 11 appointments (0.4%) 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 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	47,031	43,271	3,760
573BY	Jacksonville	29,493	27,128	2,365
573GI	The Villages	20,417	19,261	1,156
573GF	Tallahassee	17,369	16,532	837
573A4	Lake City	11,521	10,755	766
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	10,681	10,103	578
573QJ	Jacksonville	8,858	8,292	566
573GD	Ocala	8,522	8,389	133
573GE	Saint Augustine	6,677	6,590	87
573GA	Valdosta	3,942	3,915	27
573QK	Lake City	3,552	3,541	11
573QD	Gainesville	3,516	3,438	78
573QE	Gainesville	3,233	3,131	102
573GJ	St. Marys	2,925	2,880	45
573QH	Ocala	2,765	2,753	12
573GM	Waycross	2,762	2,743	19
573GL	Palatka	2,745	2,734	11
573GK	Marianna	2,213	2,150	63
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	937	857	80
573QC	Gainesville	481	267	214
573GN	Perry	438	438	0
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	59	59	0
573QF	Gainesville	32	12	20
573GG	Lecanto	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration