NC Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635GE in Stillwater, Oklahoma, scheduled 1,200 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, 1,184 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.7%) and 16 appointments (1.3%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	52,010	44,998	7,012
635	Oklahoma City	52,010	44,998	7,012
635GA	Lawton	11,983	11,748	235
635QB	Oklahoma City	9,915	9,441	474
635QA	Oklahoma City	4,340	4,119	221
635GB	Wichita Falls	3,697	3,663	34
635GD	Ada	1,891	1,880	11
635HB	Ardmore	1,415	1,404	11
635GE	Stillwater	1,200	1,184	16
635GF	Altus	985	980	5
635GG	Enid	621	607	14
635QC	Fourteenth Street	495	494	1
635GC	Blackwell	326	323	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration