South Lake Today

The Orlando VA Medical Center, subsidiary 675GE in Tavares, Florida scheduled 5,443 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,389 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 54 appointments (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 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
675	Orlando	99,742	89,064	10,678
675GA	Viera	47,294	45,780	1,514
675GG	Orlando	30,437	29,342	1,095
675GB	Daytona Beach	28,940	28,160	780
675GC	Kissimmee	5,639	5,562	77
675GE	Tavares	5,443	5,389	54
675GD	Deltona	4,828	4,802	26
675QC	Westside Pavilion	4,387	4,123	264
675GF	Clermont	4,260	4,202	58
675QD	Winter Park	3,679	3,494	185
675QB	Port Orange	4	4	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration