Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

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

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to provide specialized administrative patient support within an interdisciplinary care model.

The role involves managing clinic flow, coordinating appointments, and ensuring accurate data entry in the electronic health record to support access to care across multiple clinics. Candidates must meet federal basic requirements, demonstrate proficiency in English, and have a high school diploma or GED.

Qualifications

• Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible for appointment as per VA rules.
• English language proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Education: High school diploma or GED or equivalent.
• Experience: One year at GS-5 level or relevant equivalent in medical support/administrative roles.
• Licensure/Certification: None required.
• Foreign education: May be evaluated for equivalence to U.S. education.

Responsibilities

• Enter patient data into the electronic health record accurately.
• Monitor pre-appointment information to ensure patient readiness.
• Provide customer service in-person or by phone to patients and staff.
• Participate in team huddles and clinic meetings to coordinate care.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments as needed.

Skills

Scheduling & appointments

Patient data entry

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Customer service

Administrative judgment

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

EMR/EHR systems

Job description

Summary

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary 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 - and/or care in the community resources and impacts the administrative the administrative aspect of patient care.

Summary

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary 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 - and/or care in the community resources and impacts the administrative the administrative aspect of patient 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant: Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• GS-5 grade level experience includes - but is 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 VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e. - TRICARE - sharing agreements - collaterals - research patient - VA employee - etc.)
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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 Advanced 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
• Preferred Experience: None 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for 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
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements
• 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

• Please include full-time/part-time status or number of hours worked for each position listed on resume
• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELoTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include - but are not limited to: Processes incoming patient security messaging through an agency communication system
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings
• Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers
• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record
• Monitors pre-appointment information to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
• Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• Informs team members about shared patients
• Provides customer service face-to-face or telephonically
• Performs daily rounds to the assigned clinic areas
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm
• 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be approved at Supervisory discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 50404-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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)