SW Oklahoma News

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 635GF in Altus, Oklahoma scheduled 948 pending appointments in May compared to 1,150 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this May, 944 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.6%) and four appointments (0.4%) 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 or better to wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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.

Oklahoma City VA Medical Center - 635GF Appointments Scheduled in May 2020 vs. May 2019

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in May 2020	Total Appointments Scheduled in May 2019	Percent change in number of appointments
635	Oklahoma City	45,470	70,888	-35.9%
635GA	Lawton	15,469	13,936	11%
635GB	Wichita Falls	3,682	3,489	5.5%
635GC	Blackwell	301	365	-17.5%
635GD	Ada	490	363	35%
635GE	Stillwater	1,418	1,388	2.2%
635GF	Altus	948	1,150	-17.6%
635GG	Enid	864	1,019	-15.2%
635HB	Ardmore	1,526	1,345	13.5%
635QA	Oklahoma City	4,819	2,626	83.5%
635QB	Oklahoma City	9,558	9,594	-0.4%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration