Advanced Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to support Community Care at the Philadelphia location.

The role includes greeting patients, scheduling appointments, and coordinating patient flow across inpatient and outpatient settings. Ideal candidates will demonstrate strong communication, teamwork, and organizational skills, ensuring accurate records and timely responses to staff and veterans.

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate clearly with patients and staff.
• Ability to schedule appointments and manage calendars.
• Familiarity with basic clerical tasks and recordkeeping.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and greet patients in a courteous manner.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments per guidelines.
• Enter and verify patient demographics and insurance information.

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Phone etiquette

Multitasking

Team collaboration

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Summary

The position is located in Community Care at the Philadelphia DOW location at 100 S Independence Mall West Philadelphia - PA 19106. This announcement will be used to fill Advanced Medical Support Assistant positions within the Community Care Service as vacancies occur. Selections may be made for up to 90 days after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants will be referred as positions become available.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education: High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoke and written English in accordance with 38 USC 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - GS-6. In addition to the basic requirements - you must meet the specialized experience for the grade: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• (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 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 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
• 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
• 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)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an office setting and is primarily sedentary
• May require lifting and carrying of light loads (e.g.files - records etc.)
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position serves as a Consult Coordinator for Community Care
• The AMSA works collaboratively with other members of expanded health care teams (i.e. - Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) - specialty care) including Community Care providers - pharmacists - social workers - dieticians - behavioral health staff - etc
• to provide a robust interdisciplinary approach to care
• Important interfaces and collaborations also occur with larger health care system providers including VA and non-VA specialists - hospitals - diagnostic and treating facilities - and community-based programs
• Some of the major duties of this position include - and are not limited to: Answering phones - greeting patients - relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit
• Scheduling - canceling - re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults - including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Entering no-show information
• Monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources
• 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.)
• Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines
• Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics - and makes adjustments as necessary
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient - interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies
• Processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage - plan - problem solve - and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team
• Setting priorities and deadlines - adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs
• Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers
• as needed
• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record
• monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
• Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment
• informs team members about shared patients Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)