Lead Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Columbia (SC); On-site; USD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Lead Medical Support Assistant at the Columbia VA Healthcare System provides administrative support for Primary Care and Specialty Clinics located in Columbia, Sumter, Orangeburg, Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Anderson, and Florence County.

This role emphasizes coordinating with the patient care team, managing clinic schedules, and ensuring readiness for patient visits using VA systems such as Vista and CPRS. It also involves staff training and workflow adjustments to meet clinic needs.

Qualifications

• Six months clerical/office experience or equivalent
• One year above high school or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Must meet VA Qualification Standards and eligibility requirements

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with the patient care team to review clinic utilization and adjust clinic setup as needed.
• Develop and maintain effective communication with patients, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and external facilities.
• Monitor pre-appointment requirements and manage electronic wait lists to verify accuracy and resolve issues.
• Participate in team meetings to manage patient care, set priorities, and ensure continuity of care.

Skills

Advanced medical terminology

Advanced patient systems

Organize work and priorities

Interdisciplinary communication

Staff development and training

Staffing and workflow management

Vista CPRS proficiency

Education

One year above high school

Tools

Vista

CPRS

Job description

The incumbent is assigned to the Eligibility and Enrollment Section of the Business Office at the Columbia VA Healthcare System at the following locations: Columbia, Sumter, Orangeburg, Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Anderson, and Florence County. The Lead Medical Support Assistant is responsible for the administrative support of the clinical services to include Primary Care and various Specialty Clinics located in the Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Applicants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office or other 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.

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

For GS-7 (Lead Medical Support Assistant) - In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have the following:

Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to the following: Coordinating with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensuring that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments; developing/maintaining effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.); technical competency in the use of Vista and CPRS systems is required; must have knowledge of eligibility for VA medical care, priorities for care, release of information, Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Laws, and the Medical Fee Basis programs; must have knowledge of and be able to provide information about VA Medical Care Cost Recovery Program to patients regarding insurance data collection and revenue collection; participating in team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines for the team, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider.

Lead Medical Support Assistants at this level must demonstrate ALL of the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) below.

1. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
2. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
3. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
4. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
5. Ability to provide staff development and training.
6. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

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-7.

Physical Requirements

The work of the positions is primarily sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending stooping and carrying of small items such as files may be required.