ATL Standard

The VA Atlanta Health Care System, subsidiary 508 in Atlanta, Georgia scheduled 66,584 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 60,658 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.1%) and 5,926 appointments (8.9%) 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
508	Atlanta	66,584	60,658	5,926
508QF	Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue	29,048	25,761	3,287
508GA	Atlanta	15,062	13,928	1,134
508GE	Oakwood	9,859	9,663	196
508GH	Lawrenceville	8,984	8,797	187
508GK	Carrollton	8,200	7,544	656
508GG	Stockbridge	7,651	7,526	125
508GI	Newnan	6,372	6,298	74
508QE	Lawrenceville	3,431	3,400	31
508GO	Northeast Cobb County	3,409	3,358	51
508GF	Austell	3,222	3,164	58
508GJ	Blairsville	3,197	3,005	192
508GL	Rome	2,453	2,408	45
508QC	Atlanta	1,155	1,149	6
508QB	East Point	174	174	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration