Advanced Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; 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, clinics, and scheduling call centers.

The role encompasses coordinating appointments, updating patient information, and assisting clinical staff with administrative tasks to ensure smooth operations. Applicants may be referred while pending education/certifications, but hiring requires meeting all requirements.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• One year of creditable experience.
• English language proficiency.
• Citizenship requirements.
• Grandfathering provision may apply for current VA employees.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, cancel, or reschedule patient appointments and/or consults.
• Enter no-show information.
• Monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participate in huddles with MSAs and clinic staff.
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information at check-in.
• Coordinate transfers to VA facilities or private hospitals.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Electronic health records

Scheduling appointments

Communication

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Scheduling systems

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.

Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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