Grayson Times

The VA North Texas Health Care System, subsidiary 549GJ in Sherman, Texas, scheduled 3,281 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,246 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.9%) and 35 appointments (1.1%) 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 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
549	Dallas	75,291	67,964	7,327
549BY	Fort Worth	37,594	34,314	3,280
549A4	Bonham	13,292	12,753	539
549QC	Tyler	7,473	6,665	808
549GD	Denton	6,750	6,573	177
549GL	Plano	4,240	4,103	137
549GK	Dallas	3,318	3,287	31
549GJ	Sherman	3,281	3,246	35
549GM	Grand Prairie	2,636	2,609	27
549GH	Greenville	1,729	1,659	70
549GE	Decatur	1,627	1,584	43
549GF	Granbury	671	660	11

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration