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Thursday, November 7, 2024

VA Iowa City HCS facilities schedule 43,727 medical appointments in May 2019

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The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 43,727 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 40,071 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.64%) and 3,656 appointments (8.36%) 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 May
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Iowa City, IA19,13916,7422,397
Quad Cities, IA3,3683,218150
Quincy, IL1,6091,484125
Waterloo, IA2,0751,840235
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)1,7331,69340
Dubuque, IA1,7091,66742
Cedar Rapids, IA3,2083,13573
Ottumwa, IA2,5282,51117
Sterling, IL82077842
Decorah, IA6836758
Coralville, IA3,1453,09154
Linn County, IA71710
Iowa City, IA - Mobile298190108
Davenport, IA3183162
Iowa City-South Clinton Street, IA3,0232,660363

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