Medical Support Assistant

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; New York (NY); On-site; USD 38,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Medical Support Assistant for the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in New York. This role involves scheduling patient appointments, maintaining records, and providing essential support in a healthcare setting. Candidates should have clerical or customer service experience and ideally possess a high school diploma or higher. The position accommodates growth through various grades (GS-3 to GS-5), reflecting increasing levels of responsibility and complexity.

Qualifications

• Six months of clerical, office, or customer service experience required.
• One year above high school can substitute for experience.
• Must demonstrate knowledge and skills related to MSA responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Schedule/reschedule patients for treatment and handle inquiries.
• Assist with medical documentation and electronic health records.
• Verify insurance and coordinate patient care services.

Skills

Customer Service

Communication

Office Automation

Basic Medical Terminology

Education

High School Diploma or Equivalent

Job description

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) at James J. Peters VA Medical Center. James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJP) is a complexity 1B health care facility providing tertiary care across a broad range of inpatient and outpatient medical services. The medical center provides care to over 24,000 unique veterans, conducts over 300,000 outpatient encounters,130,000 consults, and manages approximately 40,000 inpatient bed days annually.





Duties

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Requirements

Qualifications
BASIC REQUIREMENTS.

Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).

Experience and Education.

Experience. Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other [administrative] 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.

Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, [which] are [a] part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or [changed to a lower grade] within the occupation.

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS.

Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting]. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed in paragraph 3 above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates

Medical Support Assistant, GS-3

Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher 6 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments.
ii. Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems.
iii. Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-4

Experience. One year of experience in clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position;
OR,
Education. Two years of education above high school.

Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level] receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher 6 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
iv. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-5

Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level;
OR,
Education. Four years of education above high school.

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 healthcare 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, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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.