Advanced Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) to support patient care on inpatient units, outpatient clinics, and scheduling call centers. The role emphasizes scheduling, clerical duties, and coordination with clinical staff in a VA setting.

Applicants must meet basic requirements including U.S. citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, and English proficiency. The position is GS-06 with full performance responsibilities and opportunities for

Qualifications

• Must be a United States citizen.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• High school diploma or GED required.
• Proficiency in English (speaking and writing).
• May qualify based on Grandfathering Provision for current VA employees in this occupation.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and greet patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and/or consults.
• Enter, modify, and verify patient demographics and insurance information in electronic health records and scheduling systems.
• Coordinate administrative functions related to transfers to VA facilities or private hospitals.
• Participate in daily huddles with MSA and clinic staff to determine daily needs and ensure patient flow.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Computerized systems

Schedule appointments

Independent work

Effective communication

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) performs work relating to the care & treatment given to patients on inpatient units, outpatient clinics, and scheduling call centers. 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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. (Proof must be provided if selected)
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None

English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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).

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed in paragraph 3 above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

Grade Determinations for GS-06: Experience

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

GS-5 Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's)

In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

GS-5 Assignment

This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring 7 appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 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.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person], and inwriting, 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 6

Physical Requirements

Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment

Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.