North Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GK in Marianna, Florida, scheduled 1,937 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, 1,908 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.5%) and 29 appointments (1.5%) 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
573	Gainesville	54,485	49,757	4,728
573BY	Jacksonville	34,763	31,349	3,414
573GI	The Villages	26,491	25,366	1,125
573GF	Tallahassee	21,907	20,678	1,229
573A4	Lake City	14,719	13,438	1,281
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	10,156	9,479	677
573GD	Ocala	9,495	9,314	181
573GE	Saint Augustine	8,899	8,725	174
573QJ	Jacksonville	7,412	6,892	520
573QD	Gainesville	5,258	5,026	232
573GA	Valdosta	4,539	4,483	56
573QK	Lake City	4,415	4,382	33
573QE	Gainesville	4,090	3,811	279
573GJ	St. Marys	3,297	3,218	79
573GM	Waycross	2,750	2,735	15
573QH	Ocala	2,631	2,621	10
573GL	Palatka	2,494	2,478	16
573GK	Marianna	1,937	1,908	29
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	895	845	50
573GN	Perry	613	613	0
573QC	Gainesville	204	195	9
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	69	66	3
573QF	Gainesville	67	50	17

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration