NC Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635GG in Enid, Oklahoma, scheduled 873 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 852 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.6%) and 21 appointments (2.4%) 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
635	Oklahoma City	41,875	38,128	3,747
635GA	Lawton	14,934	14,525	409
635QB	Oklahoma City	9,526	9,288	238
635QA	Oklahoma City	4,778	4,748	30
635GB	Wichita Falls	3,689	3,660	29
635HB	Ardmore	1,402	1,400	2
635GE	Stillwater	1,359	1,338	21
635QC	Fourteenth Street	1,000	1,000	0
635GF	Altus	946	945	1
635GG	Enid	873	852	21
635GD	Ada	712	710	2
635GC	Blackwell	296	226	70

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration