Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) at the Central Texas VA Health Care System (CTVHCS) provides specialized administrative patient support within the Surgical Care Clinical Section, aligning with the VHA patient-centered care model.

The role requires coordinating appointments, entering demographics, supporting transfers, and collaborating with doctors, nurses, and staff to meet daily clinic needs.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• United States Citizenship required; English proficiency essential.
• Experience not required; specialized training provided.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, reschedule and track patient appointments and consults.
• Enter demographics and verify insurance information at check-in.
• Coordinate administrative tasks for transfers and referrals.
• Prepare and present reports to support workload and revenue data.

Skills

Scheduling

Communication

Clerical skills

Team collaboration

Education

High school diploma

Tools

EHR systems

MS Office

Job description

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) serves within the Clinical Section of Surgical Care at the Central Texas VA Health Care System (CTVHCS). The AMSA position is a fundamental role within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Patient Centered Medical Home Model Transformation Initiative. They provide specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

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. Experience. No experience required. 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 Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. 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:

GS-06: Experience. One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level. Examples of experience may include, but 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; coordinate 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.).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

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 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. 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.

Preferred Experience:

Provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working] collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Responsible for running the Encounter Action Required Report (EARR) and providing findings to providers to facilitate accurate workload credit and revenue collection. Schedules appointment with patient input to reduce no shows. Continually works with the providers and nursing staff to change appointments when clinically indicated, carefully following medical center, and VHA directives regarding this process.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/Qualif