Advanced Medical Support Assistant- HAS Mental Health

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 46,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) within the Health Administration Service (HAS) Mental Health to support clinicians and staff in delivering patient care. The AMSA handles a range of technical and administrative tasks that keep scheduling, check-in, and communications running smoothly.

The role requires completing the basic requirements for federal employment, including US citizenship and English proficiency, with the full performance level

Qualifications

• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Experience includes answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages, scheduling and updating demographics.

Responsibilities

• AMSAs perform technical support duties that facilitate care by physicians, nurses and other staff.
• Collaborate with clinicians to ensure efficient patient flow and access to care.
• Coordinate administrative functions related to appointments and transfers as needed.

Skills

Answering phones

Greeting patients

Relaying messages

Scheduling

Demographics updates

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

The purpose of the position is to serve as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) to the Health Administration Service (HAS) Mental Health. 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.

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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education: Must have a high school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered by 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, applicants must possess the below requirements to qualify at the GS-06.

• Experience: Must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Example 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 (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-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06.