Advanced Medical Support Assistant-Community Care

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Columbia (SC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Columbia, SC, serves as a Consult Coordinator for Community Care.

It works with interdisciplinary teams to provide access to care across clinics, VA and non-VA facilities. The Advanced MSA performs specialized administrative patient support, manages scheduling, communications, and care coordination, while ensuring readiness for visits and follow-ups.

Qualifications

• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.
• Citizenship and English language proficiency as required by VA.
• Experience coordinating care across clinics and community resources is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates with patient care teams to review appointment availability and adjust clinic schedules.
• Maintains effective communication with VA centers, care teams, and community facilities.
• Manages patient information flows, follow-up care, and pre-visit readiness.
• Participates in team huddles and planning to solve problems and meet patient needs.

Skills

Collaboration

Prioritization

Communication

Healthcare process

Policy knowledge

Medical terminology

Job description

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position serves as a Consult Coordinator for Community Care. The MSA works collaboratively with other members of expanded health care teams 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.

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 3j.

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

GS-6

(a) Experience

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

(b) Assignment

The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. 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. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).

Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: 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). For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

(c) 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 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.

Preferred Experience

Prefer 3 years of healthcare and or customer service experience. Prefer 1 year of healthcare experience.

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-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements

This position involves prolonged sitting at a desk in an open area with several cubicles. Minor lifting may be required.