Rome Reporter

The VA Atlanta Health Care System Georgia scheduled 218,771 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 203,675 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.1%) and 15,096 appointments (6.9%) 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.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	87,934	80,948	6,986
Fort McPherson, GA	19,861	18,214	1,647
Oakwood, GA	11,390	11,150	240
Austell, GA	3,954	3,944	10
Stockbridge, GA	9,360	9,313	47
Lawrenceville, GA	10,906	10,766	140
Newnan, GA	7,193	7,149	44
Blairsville, GA	3,873	3,796	77
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	8,980	8,301	679
Rome, GA	3,066	3,034	32
Northeast Cobb County, GA	3,935	3,820	115
East Point, GA	449	430	19
Henderson Mill, GA	1,843	1,834	9
Fulton County, GA	145	140	5
Gwinnett County, GA	4,493	4,453	40
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	40,187	35,238	4,949