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Thursday, December 26, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 24,485 medical appointments in December 2020

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 24,485 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 22,665 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.57%) and 1,820 appointments (7.43%) 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.

VA Iowa City Health Care System Pending Appointments Scheduled in December
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Iowa City, IA9,4278,3301,097
Quad Cities, IA2,8892,720169
Quincy, IL1,1541,12034
Waterloo, IA1,04494995
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,1491,09653
Dubuque, IA1,1341,03599
Cedar Rapids, IA1,4991,42673
Ottumwa, IA6336276
Sterling, IL5985944
Decorah, IA56855414
Coralville, IA2,4572,43225
Linn County, IA33321
Iowa City, IA - Mobile774631
Davenport, IA3813801
Iowa City South Clinton Street, IA1,4421,324118

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