Fort Smith Times

The VA of the Ozarks Health Care System, subsidiary 564GD in Ozark, Arkansas scheduled 676 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 639 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.5%) and 37 appointments (5.5%) 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 who 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
564	Fayetteville	29,504	28,396	1,108
564BY	Springfield	22,901	22,634	267
564GC	Branson	7,452	7,411	41
564GB	Fort Smith	5,192	4,979	213
564GF	Joplin	4,451	4,323	128
564GA	Harrison	1,418	1,412	6
564GE	Jay	1,242	1,222	20
564GD	Ozark	676	639	37
564QB	Sunbridge	424	416	8
564QA	Township	3	2	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration