EC North Carolina News

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GF in Goldsboro, North Carolina scheduled 2,699 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,534 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.9%) and 165 appointments (6.1%) 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
565GL	Fayetteville	67,555	61,612	5,943
565GC	Wilmington	23,644	22,748	896
565	Fayetteville	19,058	18,298	760
565GA	Jacksonville	5,625	5,360	265
565GG	Sanford	3,927	3,795	132
565GE	Pembroke	3,014	2,929	85
565GF	Goldsboro	2,699	2,534	165
565GD	Hamlet	2,487	2,418	69
565GH	Holden Beach	2,051	2,024	27
565GJ	Jacksonville	1,407	1,388	19
565GM	Jacksonville	1,264	1,216	48
565QD	Fayetteville	577	518	59
565QA	Fayetteville	392	392	0
565MD	IDES Camp Lejeune	63	62	1
565MB	IDES Fort Bragg	17	17	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration