Medical Support Assistant - Advanced

Veterans Health Administration; Altoona (PA); On-site; USD 47,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center is recruiting for an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in the Health Administration service. The AMSA provides specialized administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care model.

Key duties include scheduling, appointment coordination, patient communications, demographics verification, and support for clinic access and care delivery across multiple clinics. Telework is not available; standard hours apply.

Qualifications

• Education or degrees must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for Federal employment.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones, greet patients, and relay messages to staff.
• Schedule patient appointments by interpreting provider orders and recall requests.
• Assist with patient flow, appointment verification, and after-visit summaries.
• Maintain patient demographics, insurance data, and care coordination with the team.
• Handle incoming/outgoing communications (phone, fax, email) and triage inquiries to clinical staff.

Job description

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center is recruiting for a Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position. The AMSA will function in the Health Administration service. The AMSA is a key member of the patient care team providing crucial administrative advice and guidance.

Key Responsibilities

The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and /or care in the community resources.

Major duties include, but may not be limited to: Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit. Schedule patient appointments by interpreting and verifying provider orders such as Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, Patient Centered Scheduling "recall" requests, consults, New Enrollee Appointment Requests (NEAR) and other order sources.

Schedules future appointments in accordance with provider clinic profiles, Advanced Clinic Access principles, and input from the patient. Generate and provide After Visit Summary for patient following appropriate actions by provider. Canceling and rescheduling appointment request. Completing no-show process including documenting, marking the appointment as a no-show and rescheduling. Monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.

Verifying and updating demographics including temporary addresses, insurance information, and sharing caregiver information. Works closely with involved providers to expedite emergency request to assure timely patientcare. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines.

Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.

Receives and relays a high volume of incoming and outgoing communication via telephone, fax, and email, from patients, staff and outside sources concerning a variety of medical, personnel, and administrative matters. Determines the nature of the inquiry and independently responds or routes to appropriate clinical staff in a timely manner appropriate to the urgency of the correspondence.

Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team. Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed.

Performing clerical duties related to patient care and treatments such as admitting and discharging, travel arrangements, forwarding medication orders, work orders, and maintaining electronic medical charts. Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients.

Performs other duties as assigned. This announcement may be used to fill vacancies at any of the listed locations. Selections will be made as vacancies arise. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm; Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 503-03194-F / Medical Support Assistant - Advanced Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements & Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $47453 – $61689/yr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-11-04.

How many openings are available?

There are 2 openings for this position.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.