Greenville Leader

The Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center, subsidiary 544BZ in Greenville, South Carolina, scheduled 11,549 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 10,620 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92%) and 929 appointments (8%) 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
544	Columbia	61,283	54,056	7,227
544BZ	Greenville	11,549	10,620	929
544GC	Rock Hill	8,604	8,415	189
544GB	Florence	5,331	5,265	66
544GG	Spartanburg	4,942	4,567	375
544GD	Anderson	4,106	3,936	170
544GE	Orangeburg	2,638	2,628	10
544GF	Sumter	2,182	2,136	46
544HK	Columbia	418	312	106

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration