Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Fort Knox (KY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Fort Knox is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) to join an interprofessional healthcare team within a VISN Clinical Contact Center.

The AMSA provides administrative support, routes clinical questions to the right staff, and helps achieve first-contact resolution for Veterans and their caregivers. The role emphasizes scheduling, patient data management, and collaboration with clinicians across multiple clinics to ensure timely access to

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED or equivalent
• Experience requirements vary by grade and may include one year of experience for GS-06 levels
• Must be proficient in English (spoken and written)

Responsibilities

• Operates within a multi-disciplinary team to provide access to care across clinics.
• Routes clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff and supports scheduling and appointment management.
• Maintains patient data accuracy and supports first-contact resolution in a call-centered environment.
• Communicates effectively with Veterans, caregivers, and interprofessional teams to resolve issues.

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in a VISN Clinical Contact Center (CCC) located at Fort Knox as part of an interprofessional healthcare team. Providing support across multiple ancillary and interprofessional clinics and determines the needs of the Veteran/caregiver. The AMSA is responsible for routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff. They play an integral role in achieving first-contact resolution through Veteran-centered delivery of care.

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

• 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
• 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 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: In addition to the basic requirements above - applicants must meet the following experience: Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• Examples of credible experience 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 clinical/medical facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status
• AND Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience or education 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
• Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed
• Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications
• Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title - duties - month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week
• Note: Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity/difficulty and a range of varieties
• 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-06
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06
• Physical Requirements: Typically - the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time
• Work is generally sedentary
• however - there may be some walking - standing - bending - and carrying of light items
• Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.

Duties

• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interprofessional 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
• Works collaboratively with VISN programs - services - and interprofessional coordinated care team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans via various available contact modalities to include but not limited to telephone calls - secure messaging - chat - text messaging and video
• Duties at this level include - but are not limited to: Operates within the various contact modalities to receive and respond to high demand of incoming and outgoing contacts in a call center setting using computerized interfaces and telecommunications hardware and software
• 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
• Works collaboratively with VISN programs - services - and interprofessional coordinated care team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans via various available contact modalities
• Schedules appointments - interprets - and verifies provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Utilizes numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interprofessional coordinated care delivery model
• Develops and/or maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient - interprofessional care delivery teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies
• Provides accurate details of organizational information to Veterans regarding the different services the VA offers
• Provides high-quality customer service to Veterans and their families/caregivers
• Provides information and resolution to Veterans' requests within scope - uses administrative judgment to elevate symptomatic concerns to clinicians within the VISN CCC or directs the contact to the appropriate discipline within the CCC or department for resolution
• Screens incoming contacts and independently routes the contacts to the appropriate area for resolution
• Provides accurate details of organizational information to Veterans regarding the different services the VA offers
• Provides high-quality customer service to Veterans and their families/caregivers
• Communicates tactfully and effectively to challenging customers who may be threatening - abusive - or distraught
• Resolves Veteran complaints as appropriate
• Performs duties as assigned to ensure efficient and effective operations
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday from 8am - 4:30pm EST Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 40925F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized