Fayetteville Today

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GL in Fayetteville, North Carolina scheduled 73,395 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 67,028 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.3%) and 6,367 appointments (8.7%) 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
565GL	Fayetteville	73,395	67,028	6,367
565GC	Wilmington	24,176	23,288	888
565	Fayetteville	19,448	18,686	762
565GA	Jacksonville	6,015	5,750	265
565GG	Sanford	4,246	4,113	133
565GE	Pembroke	3,132	3,023	109
565GF	Goldsboro	2,823	2,650	173
565GD	Hamlet	2,337	2,247	90
565GH	Holden Beach	2,225	2,205	20
565GJ	Jacksonville	1,476	1,460	16
565GM	Jacksonville	1,339	1,298	41
565QD	Fayetteville	629	591	38
565QA	Fayetteville	263	263	0
565MD	IDES Camp Lejeune	68	68	0
565MB	IDES Fort Bragg	40	40	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration