South Indy News

The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, subsidiary 583GC in Martinsville, Indiana, scheduled 422 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, 420 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.5%) and two appointments (0.5%) 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
583	Indianapolis	60,191	55,601	4,590
583GB	Bloomington	4,691	4,600	91
583GD	Indianapolis West	2,752	2,475	277
583GF	Edinburgh	1,457	1,366	91
583GE	West Lafayette	1,208	1,160	48
583GA	Terre Haute	1,071	1,048	23
583QD	Indianapolis YMCA	1,018	933	85
583GG	Shelbyville	855	739	116
583QC	Terre Haute	444	436	8
583QE	Cold Spring Road	443	443	0
583GC	Martinsville	422	420	2
583QA	Bloomington	413	396	17
583QB	Indianapolis Meridian Street	18	18	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration