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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

VA reports decrease in number of February appointments scheduled at Fayetteville VAMC health facility in Goldsboro

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The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GF in Goldsboro, North Carolina scheduled 2,943 pending appointments in February compared to 3,049 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this February, 2,809 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.4%) and 134 appointments (4.6%) 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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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.

Fayetteville VA Medical Center - 565GF Appointments Scheduled in February 2020 vs. February 2019

Facility Code
Location
Total Appointments Scheduled in February 2020
Total Appointments Scheduled in February 2019
Percent change in number of appointments
565
Fayetteville
19,234
24,214
-20.6%
565GA
Jacksonville
6,080
5,815
4.6%
565GC
Wilmington
24,220
23,956
1.1%
565GD
Hamlet
2,103
2,762
-23.9%
565GE
Pembroke
3,243
3,012
7.7%
565GF
Goldsboro
2,943
3,049
-3.5%
565GG
Sanford
4,297
4,084
5.2%
565GH
Holden Beach
2,215
2,155
2.8%
565GJ
Jacksonville
1,542
1,685
-8.5%
565GL
Fayetteville
76,142
62,400
22%
565GM
Jacksonville
1,343
2,751
-51.2%
565QA
Fayetteville
232
426
-45.5%
565QD
Fayetteville
780
847
-7.9%
Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration

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