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Waterloo Times

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 43,119 medical appointments in January 2021

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 43,119 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 37,500 had a wait time of 30 days or less (86.97%) and 5,619 appointments (13.03%) 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 January
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Iowa City, IA16,27712,8503,427
Quad Cities, IA7,1656,730435
Quincy, IL2,4162,223193
Waterloo, IA2,4262,169257
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,5481,400148
Dubuque, IA1,9101,618292
Cedar Rapids, IA2,7082,438270
Ottumwa, IA1,9181,88533
Sterling, IL91387934
Decorah, IA67258290
Coralville, IA2,4942,41480
Linn County, IA22220
Iowa City, IA - Mobile651
Iowa City, IA - Mobile651
Davenport, IA2802755
Iowa City South Clinton Street, IA2,3642,010354

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