SC Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635HB in Ardmore, Oklahoma scheduled 1,572 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,571 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.9%) and one appointment (0.1%) was 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 who 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
635	Oklahoma City	50,391	45,936	4,455
635GA	Lawton	16,062	15,659	403
635QB	Oklahoma City	9,744	9,494	250
635QA	Oklahoma City	4,920	4,908	12
635GB	Wichita Falls	3,713	3,694	19
635HB	Ardmore	1,572	1,571	1
635GE	Stillwater	1,464	1,455	9
635GF	Altus	969	962	7
635GG	Enid	908	884	24
635GC	Blackwell	318	242	76
635GD	Ada	244	236	8
635QC	Fourteenth Street	112	112	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration