SE Oklahoma News

The Muskogee VA Medical Center, subsidiary 623GC in Idabel, Oklahoma, scheduled 989 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 985 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.6%) and four appointments (0.4%) 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
623	Muskogee	24,976	22,500	2,476
623BY	Tulsa	21,408	20,376	1,032
623QB	Tulsa Eleventh Street	4,166	3,887	279
623QC	Tulsa	3,291	2,982	309
623GB	Vinita	2,624	2,614	10
623GA	McAlester	2,239	2,178	61
623QA	Muskogee East	1,150	1,135	15
623GC	Idabel	989	985	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration