Advanced Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Village of Bath (NY); On-site; USD 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to provide specialized administrative support within the healthcare system. The role involves scheduling patient appointments, managing electronic records, and collaborating with healthcare professionals to ensure effective patient care. Candidates should demonstrate strong organizational skills and a commitment to delivering quality healthcare services while adhering to VHA policies.

Qualifications

• Six months experience in clerical, office, or administrative work required.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Experience in healthcare administrative support is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the initial point of contact for patients and clinics.
• Schedule, track, and manage patient appointments.
• Coordinate with interdisciplinary teams and participate in team meetings.

Skills

Collaboration

Communication

Organizational Skills

Knowledge of Medical Terminology

Education

One year above high school

Job description

This is the Advanced level of the position. The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant under the scheduling section of the Finger Lakes VHA in support of the following locations: Bath , Canandaigua , Rochester, Elmira, Wellsville, Coudersport, and Wellsboro. Incumbent may be assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team, Behavioral Health Program, Mental Health Team, Ancillary Services, Call Center Team, Medical Services, or a Specialty Care Setting within the VA Finger Lakes.





Duties

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf

The work includes functions such as serving as an initial point of contact for the units, clinics, patient, call centers, interdisciplinary teams, to include, but not limited to, scheduling patient appointments, tracking, reviewing, and responding to electronic orders, consults, and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems. This series includes work that requires a practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems and software related to patient care, the healthcare system's organization and services, basic rules and regulations governing visitors and patient treatment, knowledge of standard procedures, utilizing medical records, and medical terminology. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in or in support of an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. 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; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; 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 i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community. Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: Not Available
Functional Statement #: 37141-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/05/2025.

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.
• English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
• Experience. Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position;
  • OR,
  • Education. One year above high school;
  • OR
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Grade Determinations: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non - VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience to the next lower grade includes but not limited to:

• 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; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance

In addition to the grade level experience, you will be rated on the following KSA's for this position:

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.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.