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Thursday, December 26, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 43,118 medical appointments in February 2019

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 43,118 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 39,785 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.27%) and 3,333 appointments (7.73%) 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 February
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Iowa City, IA19,95817,7382,220
Quad Cities, IA2,7162,61799
Quincy, IL1,4721,43042
Waterloo, IA1,9771,814163
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,7551,72827
Dubuque, IA1,5111,47437
Cedar Rapids, IA3,0912,875216
Ottumwa, IA2,4902,46228
Sterling, IL80477133
Decorah, IA72171011
Coralville, IA3,4953,41283
Linn County, IA83830
Iowa City, IA - Mobile20317033
Davenport, IA4554469
Iowa City-South Clinton Street, IA2,3872,055332

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