Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Lexington (KY); On-site; USD 48,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Retirement Plan

Employee Health Benefits

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the Patient Support Unit within the Health Administration Service at the Lexington Veterans Health Care System. This role supports Intensive Care, Progressive Care, Telemetry, Mental Health, Medical, and Surgery units.

The AMSA coordinates scheduling, updates patient demographics, and manages referrals, maintaining high standards of data accuracy and patient flow in a fast-paced clinical environment.

Qualifications

• One year of experience equivalent to GS-5 level is required or possible under grandfathering provisions.
• Proficiency in scheduling, patient data handling, and coordinating with multiple clinics and staff.
• Ability to communicate effectively with medical staff and patients, both in writing and verbally.

Responsibilities

• Interpret and verify provider orders and schedule follow-up appointments for discharged patients.
• Monitor inpatient and outpatient appointments and coordinate admissions/discharges.
• Build and maintain medical records; perform data entry in VISTA, CPRS, Bed Management System and BIO Point.
• Coordinate transfers and act as main point of contact for the unit.

Skills

Scheduling appointments

Data entry

Communication with clinicians

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma / GED

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Patient Support Unit of the Health Administration Service in support of Intensive Care - Progressive Care - Telemetry - Mental Health - Medical - and Surgery units. The Lexington Veterans Health Care System (LVAHCS) located in Lexington - Kentucky is a teaching hospital affiliated with University of Kentucky.

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Patient Support Unit of the Health Administration Service in support of Intensive Care - Progressive Care - Telemetry - Mental Health - Medical - and Surgery units. The Lexington Veterans Health Care System (LVAHCS) located in Lexington - Kentucky is a teaching hospital affiliated with University of Kentucky.

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 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 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
• Preferred Experience: Prior experience working in Patient Support Unit - scheduling - training and working with multi-disciplinary teams
• 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

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The AMSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interprofessional coordinated care delivery model
• The inpatient AMSA is responsible for interpreting and verifying provider orders and securing hospital follow-up appointments for discharged patients
• Other assignments at this level include - but are not limited to: Training new staff - mentoring and providing guidance to MSAs at the entry and developmental level Receiving admissions and lodgers - performing patient discharges - interward transfers and transfers to other facilities
• Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments - have appointments cancelled and rescheduled
• sends patients to X-ray - lab - EKG - and other clinics
• Coordinate admissions/discharges with clinical staff
• serves as the unit main point of contact and information
• Receive multiple calls and provide information to various medical staff - clinics - and patient families Provide orientation to staff - patients - and visitors Perform data entry in VISTA and CPRS - Bed Management System - and BIO Point
• Builds and updates medical records and extracts information for review
• Utilizes Microsoft Office - Word - Excel - and Outlook
• performs office work such as filing - faxing - copying - and ordering supplies Work Schedule: Various shifts to include days - evenings - nights - weekends - and holidays
• Schedule may vary based on patient volume and needs of service
• Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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 #: 31361F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized