Ocala Standard

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573QH in Ocala, Florida scheduled 3,922 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,626 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.5%) and 296 appointments (7.6%) 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 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
573	Gainesville	49,038	44,672	4,366
573BY	Jacksonville	35,489	31,594	3,895
573GI	The Villages	25,640	24,466	1,174
573GF	Tallahassee	22,614	21,686	928
573A4	Lake City	13,573	12,355	1,218
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	11,978	11,209	769
573QJ	Jacksonville	10,663	10,152	511
573GD	Ocala	9,471	9,117	354
573GE	Saint Augustine	8,383	8,242	141
573QD	Gainesville	5,685	5,518	167
573GA	Valdosta	4,559	4,455	104
573QE	Gainesville	4,145	4,008	137
573QK	Lake City	4,120	4,104	16
573QH	Ocala	3,922	3,626	296
573GJ	St. Marys	3,554	3,457	97
573GM	Waycross	3,079	3,039	40
573GL	Palatka	2,965	2,938	27
573GK	Marianna	2,645	2,633	12
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	698	658	40
573QC	Gainesville	560	202	358
573GN	Perry	557	556	1
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	54	54	0
573QF	Gainesville	33	16	17
573GG	Lecanto	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration