ATL Standard

The VA Atlanta Health Care System Georgia scheduled 213,217 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 200,413 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.99%) and 12,804 appointments (6.01%) 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	84,710	78,568	6,142
Fort McPherson, GA	19,845	18,673	1,172
Oakwood, GA	10,923	10,679	244
Austell, GA	5,207	5,179	28
Stockbridge, GA	9,877	9,818	59
Lawrenceville, GA	10,470	10,368	102
Newnan, GA	7,614	7,589	25
Blairsville, GA	4,172	4,145	27
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	8,223	7,930	293
Rome, GA	3,035	2,983	52
Northeast Cobb County, GA	3,072	2,973	99
East Point, GA	544	526	18
Henderson Mill, GA	1,815	1,809	6
Fulton County, GA	153	146	7
Gwinnett County, GA	4,347	4,327	20
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	39,210	34,700	4,510