Onslow News

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GM in Jacksonville, North Carolina, scheduled 1,136 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,115 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.2%) and 21 appointments (1.9%) 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
565GL	Fayetteville	44,054	39,821	4,233
565GC	Wilmington	18,176	16,333	1,843
565	Fayetteville	12,864	10,417	2,447
565GA	Jacksonville	3,809	3,747	62
565GG	Sanford	3,054	3,011	43
565GF	Goldsboro	2,858	2,844	14
565GE	Pembroke	2,071	2,032	39
565GH	Holden Beach	1,798	1,750	48
565GD	Hamlet	1,507	1,487	20
565GM	Jacksonville	1,136	1,115	21
565GJ	Jacksonville	989	986	3
565QA	Fayetteville	672	580	92
565QD	Fayetteville	336	264	72
565MB	IDES Fort Bragg	103	100	3
565MD	IDES Camp Lejeune	98	98	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration