Outer Banks Times

The Durham VA Medical Center, subsidiary 558GC in Morehead City, North Carolina scheduled 4,843 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 4,590 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.8%) and 253 appointments (5.2%) 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
558	Durham	76,068	65,826	10,242
558GA	Greenville	34,031	29,721	4,310
558GB	Raleigh	6,799	6,574	225
558GE	Durham	6,544	6,474	70
558GC	Morehead City	4,843	4,590	253
558GG	Raleigh-Atlantic Avenue	4,798	4,726	72
558GF	Raleigh	3,854	3,518	336
558GD	Durham	2,822	2,547	275
558QA	Raleigh	162	148	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration