North Central PA Times

The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, subsidiary 693GF in Berwick, Pennsylvania, scheduled 85 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 84 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and one appointment (1.2%) was 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
693	Wilkes-Barre	31,397	29,405	1,992
693B4	Allentown	8,401	7,973	428
693GB	Williamsport	3,329	3,202	127
693GA	Sayre	1,794	1,746	48
693QA	Honesdale	867	839	28
693GG	Bangor	826	819	7
693GC	Tobyhanna	272	269	3
693GF	Berwick	85	84	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration