Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Amarillo (TX); On-site; USD 52,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs Amarillo VA Health Care System is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) to support the VA Community Care Service. Responsibilities include scheduling appointments, coordinating access to care, processing patient information, and providing courteous patient service across clinics.

Qualified candidates will have a HS diploma or equivalent, proficiency in English, and the ability to work within a team using the VA scheduling guidelines and

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Experience in scheduling or coordinating patient care is described as essential.
• Proficiency in English, both spoken and written, is required.

Responsibilities

• Schedule patient appointments and coordinate referrals and transfers.
• Greet patients, relay messages, and manage front-desk duties.
• Monitor and verify patient demographics and insurance information.
• Support clinic operations within an interdisciplinary care model.

Skills

Scheduling across clinics

Medical terminology

Interdisciplinary communication

Prioritization

Customer service

Education

High school diploma / GED

Tools

MyHealthyVet

VA scheduling systems

Job description

The incumbent services as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) for the VA Community Care Service (VACC) in the Amarillo VA Health Care System (AVAHCS). AVACHS serves Veterans in the Texas Panhandle and three adjoining states. The incumbent's work impacts the administrative aspect of non-VA medical care including access, coordinating appointments using approved clinic access principles, patient processing, appointment scheduling and customer service. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/02/2026.

Basic Requirements

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. None.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06:

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5). Experience includes 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.).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g., medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.

Assignment. For all assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible 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. Recommend changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. 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. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; 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; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; 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 (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community).

Preferred Experience

• 12 months working in a clinical environment coordinating patient schedules (eg: scheduling appointments, coordinating consults)
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology: documenting/reading administrative notes in medical charts
• Customer service: experience in de-escalation, problem solving, decision making, and tactful communication skills
• 12 months clerical work experience using computer applications, multi-line phone systems
• Experience with workload reports and data collection to include meeting deadlines, setting priorities, and organizing workloads
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to work well in groups

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-6.