ND North News

The Fargo VA Medical Center, subsidiary 437GD in Minot, North Dakota, scheduled 1,052 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, 1,033 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.2%) and 19 appointments (1.8%) 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 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
437	Fargo	23,481	21,202	2,279
437GB	Bismarck	1,302	1,170	132
437GE	Bemidji	1,152	1,126	26
437GD	Minot	1,052	1,033	19
437GI	Grand Forks	675	659	16
437GC	Fergus Falls	515	511	4
437GF	Williston	351	319	32
437GJ	Dickinson	317	309	8
437GL	Devils Lake	230	229	1
437GK	Jamestown	198	190	8
437GA	Grafton	123	123	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration