Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration; Lexington (VA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Health Administration seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to act as a Consult Coordinator and to support a robust interdisciplinary approach to care across PACT, specialty care, Community Care, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians, and behavioral health staff.

Applicants must meet basic requirements (citizenship, education, language proficiency) and may be referred while completing requirements.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of health care processes and patient access to care.
• Experience coordinating care across multiple disciplines and community resources.
• Ability to document accurately and maintain patient information.
• Strong communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to set priorities and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and consults.
• Enter and update patient demographics and insurance information.
• Monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources and transfers.
• Coordinate administrative functions for patient transfers to other facilities.
• Assist in maintaining clinic workflows and inter-team communications.

Skills

Interdisciplinary coordination

Care coordination

Documentation accuracy

Communication (oral/written)

Prioritization

Data/reporting

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant position serves as a Consult Coordinator and is a foundational role within the continuum of patient care. The MSA works collaboratively with other members of expanded health care teams (i.e. PACT, specialty care) including Community Care providers, pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, behavioral health staff, etc. to provide a robust interdisciplinary approach to care.

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
• 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.
• 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

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

KSAs

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.

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.

Preferred Experience

One year experience of scheduling experience. Good customer service, ability to communicate well verbally and in writing. Ability to multitask and prioritize duties. Ability to work interchangeably on different teams with diverse personalities.

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.