NC Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635GC in Blackwell, Oklahoma scheduled 375 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, 367 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.9%) and eight appointments (2.1%) 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
635	Oklahoma City	70,042	64,123	5,919
635GA	Lawton	17,793	17,434	359
635QB	Oklahoma City	10,690	10,550	140
635QA	Oklahoma City	5,127	5,110	17
635GB	Wichita Falls	4,008	3,988	20
635QC	Fourteenth Street	1,736	1,731	5
635GE	Stillwater	1,707	1,702	5
635HB	Ardmore	1,664	1,653	11
635GF	Altus	1,187	1,180	7
635GG	Enid	998	993	5
635GC	Blackwell	375	367	8
635GD	Ada	343	335	8

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration