Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Battle Creek (MI); On-site; USD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant within the Battle Creek VA, providing administrative patient support across Battle Creek and surrounding Michigan communities. You will handle access by scheduling and coordinating appointments, collecting demographic and insurance information, and managing the Electronic Waiting List.

You will work with a multidisciplinary care team, adhering to privacy rules and clinic processes to ensure efficient patient flow and service quality.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required.
• Six months clerical/administrative or equivalent experience or education.
• One year above high school or equivalent experience.
• English proficiency in speaking and writing.

Responsibilities

• Provides specialized administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care delivery model.
• Uses advanced patient systems to support clinics across multiple teams.
• Coordinates appointment availability and scheduling with the patient input.
• Screens calls and provides information while following privacy rules and clinic processes.
• Follows provider orders including scheduling consultations, labs and referrals.

Skills

Collaboration across disciplines

Prioritization & organization

Written and spoken communication

Health care process knowledge

Education

Six months clerical/administrative experience or one year above high school

Job description

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant within the Battle Creek VA. The Battle Creek VA provides care in Battle Creek - Wyoming - Lansing - Benton Harbor and Muskegon Michigan. The work impacts the administrative aspect of patient care including: access - scheduling/coordinating appointments using advanced clinic access principles - collecting and updating demographic and insurance information - managing the Electronic Waiting List - patient processing and customer service.

Qualifications

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
• Experience and Education
• (1) 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 (2) Education
• One year above high school
• OR (3) Experience/Education Combination:
• Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• 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 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-6 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced): One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level In addition - candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 6
• Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary
• It typically requires sitting with sustained periods of concentration
• There will be some walking - standing - bending - and carrying of relatively light objects
• The position may also require stooping - reaching - lifting - pulling - and other moderate exertion or strain
• Incumbent may occasionally have to walk some distance to a meeting.

Duties

• Major duties of this position will include - but are not limited to: Provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model
• Utilizes 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
• Schedules all appointments with the patient's input - either in person or by phone
• Follows through on providers' orders including scheduling appropriate consultation requests - labs - x-rays and various other specialty clinics available at the CBOC
• Screens/receives phone calls in a courteous and timely manner - determines the nature of request and provides the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am -4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 91171A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized