Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis, MN, seeks an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to be the first point of contact for patients, schedule appointments, and manage electronic orders within the EMR systems.

The role requires coordinating care across disciplines, handling patient demographics, and ensuring smooth clinic operations in the Imaging PSL at the VA Medical Center. Comprehensive knowledge of medical terminology and strong communication are essential.

Qualifications

• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (MSA duties listed)
• Demonstrated knowledge of health care processes and ability to coordinate care delivery across disciplines and settings
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external customers in person, by phone, and in writing

Responsibilities

• Serve as initial point of contact for patients and respond to inquiries
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments and consultations
• Enter and review patient demographics and insurance information at check‑in
• Coordinate administrative functions for transfers and referrals
• Assist in huddles and daily clinic operations to meet patient needs

Skills

Phone handling

Greeting patients

Scheduling appointments

Demographics verification

Care coordination

Communication

Education

High School diploma or transcript

General Education Development (GED) certificate

Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education

Post-high school education

Tools

EMR systems

Scheduling software

Patient records

Job description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant serves as an initial point of contact for patients; schedules medical appointments; tracks, reviews and responds to electronic orders, consults and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems.

This position is located in the Imaging PSL, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. 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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Must possess one of the following:
  • High School diploma or transcript (including homeschooling)
  • General Education Development (GED) certificate
  • Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education
  • Post-high school education

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

• Specialized Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Examples of creditable experience include but are not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; 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. Coordinating 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.).
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to meeting the experience requirement, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

Reference

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

The full performance level for this occupation is GS-5. This position is above the Full Performance Level.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.