South Fulton Today

The VA Atlanta Health Care System Georgia scheduled 211,067 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 196,192 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.95%) and 14,875 appointments (7.05%) 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	85,072	77,566	7,506
Fort McPherson, GA	19,416	18,105	1,311
Oakwood, GA	10,938	10,624	314
Austell, GA	4,899	4,865	34
Stockbridge, GA	9,479	9,397	82
Lawrenceville, GA	10,509	10,333	176
Newnan, GA	7,455	7,412	43
Blairsville, GA	3,821	3,763	58
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	8,578	7,893	685
Rome, GA	3,219	3,179	40
Northeast Cobb County, GA	3,496	3,398	98
East Point, GA	326	304	22
Henderson Mill, GA	1,614	1,607	7
Fulton County, GA	91	90	1
Gwinnett County, GA	4,290	4,246	44
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	37,864	33,410	4,454