Quantcast

OKC Standard

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Oklahoma City VAMC facilities schedule 82,266 medical appointments in October 2020

Istock 000003255680 medium

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center Oklahoma scheduled 82,266 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 75,511 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.79%) and 6,755 appointments (8.21%) 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.

Oklahoma City VA Medical Center Pending Appointments Scheduled in October
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Oklahoma City, OK42,29037,0005,290
Lawton, OK11,63411,248386
Wichita Falls, TX3,7653,74223
Blackwell, OK31329914
Ada, OK1,7331,7294
Stillwater, OK1,2321,2239
Altus, OK9589499
Enid, OK83282012
Ardmore, OK1,3691,3618
North May, OK4,5854,452133
South Oklahoma City, OK9,6189,109509
Fourteenth Street, OK1,0891,0854

MORE NEWS