Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

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

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) within the Clinic Practice Management service to support multiple clinics and coordinate Veteran care.

The AMSA assists with scheduling, patient check-in, referrals, and information on VA programs, ensuring first-contact resolution and veteran-centered delivery. Applicants must meet basic education and English proficiency requirements; certification is not required, but strong communication and teamwork

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Experience communicating with diverse clinical staff is expected.
• Ability to schedule appointments and manage patient flow.
• Knowledge of VA scheduling guidelines preferred.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and greet patients.
• Relay messages to staff and schedule appointments.
• Enter and verify patient demographics and insurance information.
• Coordinate transfers and referrals as needed.

Skills

Team collaboration

Scheduling

Communication

Medical terminology

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Job description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) within the Clinic Practice Management service provides support across multiple ancillary & interprofessional clinics, services & sections. The AMSA plays an integral role in achieving first contact resolution through Veteran centered delivery of care & they collaborates to best coordinate the needs of the Veteran. The AMSA's provide information on programs, initiatives available to Veterans & administrative referrals of services as needed.

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.

The following are requirements for appointment as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). These requirements apply to all VHA MSAs in the General Schedule (GS)-0679 series.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
• Education. High School Diploma, a General Education Development (GED) equivalency certificate, a proficiency certificate from the State or territorial-level Board or Department of education;
• Certification. None required.

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 experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6

Experience - One (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. This experience may include but is not limited to; independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The AMSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments 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 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.). Note: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

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

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-0679-06

Physical Requirements:

Position requires visual acuity, adequate auditory perception, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. Position requires potentially extended periods of sitting. The position requires some bending and carrying of items. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations and able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must meet Employee Health mandates as a condition of employment.