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Cedar Rapids Today

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 51,187 medical appointments in March 2021

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 51,187 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 45,158 had a wait time of 30 days or less (88.22%) and 6,029 appointments (11.78%) 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, IA18,82615,3283,498
Quad Cities, IA8,3727,866506
Quincy, IL2,5552,298257
Waterloo, IA3,1862,934252
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,8941,743151
Dubuque, IA2,3642,118246
Cedar Rapids, IA3,2423,063179
Ottumwa, IA2,2362,21422
Sterling, IL1,4771,40077
Decorah, IA99792374
Coralville, IA2,7232,601122
Linn County, IA23230
Iowa City, IA - Mobile13611719
Davenport, IA4304219
Iowa City South Clinton Street, IA2,7262,109617

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