North Little Rock Times

The VA Central Arkansas Health Care System, subsidiary 598GG in Conway, Arkansas scheduled 7,011 pending appointments in December compared to 6,522 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this December, 6,661 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95%) and 350 appointments (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 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 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.

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 who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

VA Central Arkansas Health Care System - 598GG Appointments Scheduled in December 2019 vs. December 2018

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in December 2019	Total Appointments Scheduled in December 2018	Percent change in number of appointments
598	Little Rock	42,773	44,311	-3.5%
598A0	North Little Rock	47,968	46,362	3.5%
598GA	Mountain Home	4,673	4,295	8.8%
598GB	El Dorado	2,539	2,619	-3.1%
598GC	Hot Springs	7,571	5,686	33.2%
598GD	Mena	1,693	1,534	10.4%
598GE	Pine Bluff	3,416	3,215	6.3%
598GF	Searcy	3,624	3,720	-2.6%
598GG	Conway	7,011	6,522	7.5%
598GH	Russellville	2,545	2,535	0.4%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration