Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Hopkinsville (KY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) to assist Veterans with outpatient appointments and to support care coordination within specialty clinics, working closely with the Lead AMSA.

Responsibilities include scheduling, canceling, and rescheduling appointments, entering no-show data, and updating demographics and insurance information at check-in, while coordinating transfers as needed.

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen (per basic requirements).
• High school diploma or GED required.
• English proficiency in speech and writing.
• No prior experience required.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and/or consults.
• Enter no-show information.
• Monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participate in huddles with clinic staff to determine daily needs.
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information at check-in.
• Coordinate administrative transfers to other facilities or hospitals.
• Determine appointment type based on patient eligibility.

Skills

Scheduling appointments

Interdisciplinary coordination

Medical terminology

Communication with clinicians

Prioritization and organization

Report writing and data presentation

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Computer terminal

Job description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) who is responsible for assistance to Veterans providing a smooth process for the management of his/her outpatient appointments as well as support work in connection with the care and treatment given to the Veterans. The AMSA (Specialty Clinic) will work with the Lead AMSA (Specialty Clinic).

Please include full-time/part-time status or number of hours worked for each position listed on resume.

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. 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.
• Physical 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

In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

GS-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements. To qualify at this level, candidates must have: 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

Candidates must also demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) below:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. 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.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
6. 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.

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.

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.