North Central PA Times

The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, subsidiary 693GF in Berwick, Pennsylvania scheduled 144 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 126 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.5%) and 18 appointments (12.5%) 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 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
693	Wilkes-Barre	47,278	44,271	3,007
693B4	Allentown	12,705	12,338	367
693GB	Williamsport	4,189	4,137	52
693GA	Sayre	2,796	2,715	81
693GG	Bangor	1,147	1,134	13
693QA	Honesdale	873	868	5
693GC	Tobyhanna	549	543	6
693GF	Berwick	144	126	18

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration