Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Fresno (CA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks Medical Support Assistants (MSAs) for GS-03 to GS-05 levels in Fresno. The role supports clinic operations with front desk duties, appointment scheduling, and patient record updates. Candidates must meet basic requirements and English proficiency.

GS-04/05 add requirements for experience or education and KSAs in medical terminology, patient communication, and use of office automation tools to manage care coordination and scheduling efficiently.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship required.
• English language proficiency required for speaking and writing.
• High school diploma or GED or equivalent.
• One year of creditable experience OR two years of education above high school (GS-04/05).
• Proficiency in basic medical terminology and clerical duties.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and reschedule patient appointments.
• Answer phones and greet patients at front desk.
• Review and update patient records and demographics.
• Coordinate with clinical staff for scheduling and administrative orders.
• Assist in processing physician scheduling and inquiries.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Interpersonal communication

Office automation skills

Education

High school diploma or GED

One year of creditable experience

Two years of education above high school

Tools

Scheduling programs

Insurance collection system

Scanning software

Electronic faxing programs

Job description

It is expected that MSAs at this level receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. At this level, MSAs apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients. MSAs use a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotates patient records. They perform front desk duties, receives telephone call, and visitors to the MSA unit

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.
• Experience and Education.
  • (1) Experience. None,
  • (2) Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations

• Medical Support Assistant, GS-03.
  • (1) Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
  • (2) Assignment. Employees at this grade level serve in a MSA entry-level developmental position. This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level will receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. At this level, MSAs apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients. They utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotate patient records. They perform front desk duties, receive telephone call, and visitors to the MSA unit. They make and cancel appointments, review patient records for necessary information, and review patient demographics and insurance verification. They consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders.
• Medical Support Assistant, GS-04.
  • (1) Experience or Education.
    • (a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR
    • (b) Education. One year of education above high school.
  • (2) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
    • (a) Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
    • (b) Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
    • (c) Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
    • (d) Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e., computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.
  • (3) Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level will receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve VA Handbook 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 and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. MSAs at this level refer all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care team member.
• c. Medical Support Assistant, GS-05.
  • (1) Experience or Education.
    • (a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR
    • (b) Education. Two years of education above high school.
  • (2) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
    • (a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
    • (b) Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
    • (c) Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
    • (d) Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
    • (e) Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
    • (f) Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
  • (3) Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of health care services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, and scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. 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, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates 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.).

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-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.

Physical Requirements:

The work is mostly sedentary, although some slight physical effort will be required using computers/phones; there may be some light lifting/carrying of files/documents; and walking throughout the service/facility for meetings, etc.