NC Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635GC in Blackwell, Oklahoma, scheduled 292 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 278 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.2%) and 14 appointments (4.8%) 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	40,544	35,973	4,571
635GA	Lawton	13,581	13,086	495
635QB	Oklahoma City	9,542	9,037	505
635QA	Oklahoma City	4,594	4,457	137
635GB	Wichita Falls	3,699	3,681	18
635GD	Ada	1,662	1,661	1
635HB	Ardmore	1,337	1,328	9
635GE	Stillwater	1,220	1,211	9
635GF	Altus	957	951	6
635QC	Fourteenth Street	937	936	1
635GG	Enid	836	825	11
635GC	Blackwell	292	278	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration