Adv Med Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Butler Township (PA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to support a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model.

The MSA will schedule and manage patient appointments and verify provider orders, using electronic medical records and scheduling systems to handle sensitive information. Applicants may be referred while meeting licensure requirements, but final hire depends on completing all prerequisites.

Qualifications

• US citizenship required.
• One year of creditable experience at GS-5 or equivalent is required for higher grade levels per VA policy.
• English language proficiency required for spoken and written communication.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and manage patient appointments and provider orders.
• Enter, modify and retrieve information from electronic medical records and scheduling systems.
• Interpret and verify provider orders and generate routine reports.

Skills

Scheduling

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Medical terminology

Communication

Prioritization

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model. The MSA is responsible for scheduling and managing patient appointments, as well as, and interpreting and verifying provider orders. The MSA operates computerized programs and data bases in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive information from electronic medical records, scheduling systems, and reports.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• a. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• b. Experience. None.
• c. Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• d. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.
• e. Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (2) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
• f. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• g. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• h. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-6

Experience.

One year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

• (a) Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
• (b) Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow‑up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• (c) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• (d) Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g., medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• (e) Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• (f) Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

The full performance level of this vacancy is G-6.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.