Medical Support Assistant

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Iowa City (IA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Iowa City VA Health Care System is seeking an experienced Medical Support Assistant to support outpatient and specialty departments by handling patient intake, messaging, and indexing in various Vista and PC systems.

The role emphasizes accurate data entry, courteous patient interaction, and timing coordination for appointments and referrals within the VA scheduling framework.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED or equivalent.
• Basic medical terminology knowledge.
• Ability to schedule appointments and manage patient messages.
• Strong communication with diverse patient populations.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and greet patients in a clinical setting.
• Enter and retrieve patient information in electronic health records.
• Schedule patient appointments and coordinate with clinical staff.
• Explain provider orders per scheduling guidelines.

Skills

Medical terminology

Patient communication

Interpersonal skills

Scheduling

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Medical Support Assistant (MSA)

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves primarily in the Outpatient Specialty departments but is required to work in other departments as necessary. The MSA works for the Iowa City VA Health Care System at the Iowa City campus. The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications

Basic Requirements

• a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens
• b. Experience. None.
• c. Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• d. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.
• f. 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.
• g. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
• h. 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.

Experience or Education.

None beyond the basic requirements.

Assignment.

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.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-04.

Experience or Education.

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR

Education. One year of education above high school.

AND

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.

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

Medical Support Assistant, GS-05.

Experience or Education.

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR

Education. Two years of education above high school.

AND

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 asatisfactory 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.

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.

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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.