Louisville City Wire

The Robley Rex VA Medical Center, subsidiary 603GC in Shively, Kentucky, scheduled 6,187 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 6,083 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.3%) and 104 appointments (1.7%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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
603	Louisville	44,960	43,205	1,755
603GE	Newburg	7,418	7,317	101
603GC	Shively	6,187	6,083	104
603GA	Fort Knox	5,924	5,845	79
603GD	Stonybrook	5,756	5,609	147
603GF	Clarkson	4,597	4,575	22
603GB	New Albany	4,268	4,205	63
603GG	Scottsburg	2,720	2,686	34
603GH	Carrollton	449	442	7
603PB	Louisville (SARRTP)	4	4	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration