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Waterloo Times

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 44,495 medical appointments in March 2019

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 44,495 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 41,071 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.3%) and 3,424 appointments (7.7%) 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 March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Iowa City, IA20,27317,8862,387
Quad Cities, IA2,7792,658121
Quincy, IL1,5151,47045
Waterloo, IA2,1251,980145
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,7491,72524
Dubuque, IA1,6541,60846
Cedar Rapids, IA3,2383,095143
Ottumwa, IA2,4942,47123
Sterling, IL87783245
Decorah, IA74673016
Coralville, IA3,6613,59269
Linn County, IA92911
Iowa City, IA - Mobile21517936
Davenport, IA4304228
Iowa City-South Clinton Street, IA2,6472,332315

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