Treasure Coast Sun

The West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, subsidiary 548GE in Vero Beach, Florida, scheduled 3,967 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,928 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 39 appointments (1%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that 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 that cautioned that 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.

The VA explains on its website that 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
548	West Palm Beach	67,956	63,498	4,458
548GB	Delray Beach	5,903	5,864	39
548GC	Stuart	5,827	5,821	6
548GA	Fort Pierce	4,767	4,760	7
548GE	Vero Beach	3,967	3,928	39
548GD	Boca Raton	3,148	3,126	22
548GF	Okeechobee	1,757	1,756	1
548QA	Port Saint Lucie	1,460	1,379	81

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration