East Panhandle Times

The Martinsburg VA Medical Center, subsidiary 613 in Martinsburg, West Virginia scheduled 40,199 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, 36,090 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.8%) and 4,109 appointments (10.2%) 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
613	Martinsburg	40,199	36,090	4,109
613GG	Frederick	5,862	5,637	225
613GC	Stephens City	4,041	3,933	108
613GB	Hagerstown	3,480	3,344	136
613GF	Harrisonburg	1,956	1,901	55
613GA	Cumberland	1,822	1,744	78
613GE	Petersburg	409	403	6
613BU	Martinsburg	251	249	2
613GD	Franklin	53	53	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration