Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

The Minneapolis VA Health Care System seeks a Medical Support Assistant to provide essential administrative support within the Nutrition and Food Services department. You will manage appointments, coordinate information between clinical staff, patients, and caregivers, and ensure smooth day-to-day operations of the clinics.

Applicants may be referred and tentatively selected while meeting education and licensure requirements.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to understand diagnoses and procedures.
• Excellent customer service to identify concerns and refer to the right staff.
• Ability to operate computerized programs to enter and retrieve sensitive patient information in EHRs and scheduling systems.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently on diverse patient support duties.
• Strong communication with internal and external customers.

Responsibilities

• Scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment.
• Interviewing for appointments and referring patients to other clinics.
• Providing information to patients to resolve complaints.
• Reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records and administrative records.
• Coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Electronic health records

Appointment scheduling

Communication skills

Independent work

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB)

Scheduling systems

Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Job description

This position provides medical administrative support to the Nutrition and Food Services department of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and is an integral member of the clinic team to effectively carry out day to day administrative operations of the clinics. The Medical Support Assistant is responsible for accurate appointment management and the coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff, patient caregiver and/or representative.

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: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Education/Experience: Experience. No experience required.
• Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• 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

In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the grade specific requirement: One (1) year experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-4, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities.

Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to:

• scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment
• interviewing for appointment: referring patients to other medical specialty clinics
• providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints
• interacting with both internal 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 appointment in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines

OR, Education: Two years of education above high school. AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Required KSAs

• KSA- 1: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• KSA-2: Skill in customer service with the ability] to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• KSA-3: 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.
• KSA-4: Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• KSA-5: Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• KSA- 6: Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with [internal and external customers.

Preferred Experience: Experience in computer systems and a support role; such as an assistant, program support, answering phones and customer service. 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.

Physical Requirements

Physical Requirements: This position requires long periods of sitting and extensive fine motor skills and exertion to the upper extremities. Rigid deadlines and need for high degree of accuracy periodically becomes stressful. Incumbent is expected to practice safe work habits and use ergonomically correct body mechanics to avoid injury.