Advanced Medical Support Assistant (Call Center)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs in Indianapolis is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (A/MSA) for the Call Center. The A/MSA performs technical support duties that assist clinicians and staff delivering patient care, including scheduling, data entry, and communications with internal and external customers.

Candidates must meet federal resume requirements and document specialized experience; GS-6 grade; U.S.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is required; non-citizens only when cannot recruit citizens.
• GED certificate or proficiency certificate issued by a State or Dept. of Education.
• Post-high school education may qualify.
• May qualify under Grandfathering Provision for current VA employees.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support to clinicians to facilitate patient care.
• Answer phones, greet patients, relay messages to staff.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments; enter no-shows.
• Coordinate emergency and non-emergency transfers to other facilities.

Skills

Advanced healthcare support

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Communication skills

Scheduling and appointment coord.

Medical terminology

Education

GED certificate

Proficiency certificate

Post-high school education

Job description

The position serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the Call Center. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (A/MSA) is responsible for performing a variety of technical support duties that facilitate the work of physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nursing assistants, and other members of the medical facility who provide direct patient care.

NOTE: You must include qualifying specialized experience employment periods in mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy format on your resume and indicate Full-Time or Part-Time (if Part-time, must include # of hours worked per week). AND, if you have held a Government position, that position's grade level MUST be listed on your resume; Failure to include all requirements in your resume may result in disqualification. Please refer to USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my federal resume? for additional information on resume requirements.

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.
• General Education Development (GED) certificate
• OR,
• Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education
• OR,
• Post-high school education

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 Determination: GS-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade GS-5. Examples of creditable experience include but 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; entering no-show information; 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. Coordinating 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.).

Knowledge Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 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.
• 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.

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

The work is mostly sedentary. It typically requires sitting with sustained periods of concentration. There will be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of relatively light objects. The position may also require stooping, reaching, lifting, pulling, and other moderate exertion or strain. Incumbent may occasionally have to walk some distance to a meeting.