Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Waco (TX); On-site; USD 46,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Federal Health Insurance

Traditional pension

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Texas seeks a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) in Imaging Service to provide specialized administrative support across Austin, Temple, and Waco.

You will collaborate with medical clinicians to coordinate access to care and ensure efficient patient flow. Responsibilities include advanced scheduling, demographic/insurance verification, and preparing reports while maintaining accurate electronic records and patient communications.

Qualifications

• Must be a United States citizen with English proficiency.
• High school diploma or GED or State/provincial equivalency certificate.
• One year of specialized experience at GS-05 or equivalent.
• Experience scheduling and managing patient appointments and/or consults.

Responsibilities

• Assist in scheduling across multiple clinics and coordinating appointments.
• Enter and verify demographics and insurance information at check-in.
• Coordinate administrative functions for patient transfers between VA facilities or community providers.
• Prepare reports and manage patient communications via MyHealthyVet and other channels.
• Support team with clinic flow, huddles, and care coordination across disciplines.

Skills

Scheduling

CPRS

Cisco Jabber

Data tracking

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

High school diploma / GED

Tools

CPRS

Cisco Jabber

VistA

Job description

Summary

This position is in the VA Central Texas Health Care System (CTXVHCS) - Diagnostic Imaging Service - and serves Austin - Temple and Waco - TX. The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) in Imaging Service. The MSA (Advanced) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model within the Radiology/Nuclear Medicine Service Line.

Qualifications

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
• 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 Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for 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: GS-06: Experience
• One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level
• Examples of experience may include - but 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
• coordinate 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: 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 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: One or more years' experience scheduling and submitting notes in CPRS Experience scheduling imaging exams a plus Experience pulling reports-pendings - holds - scheduled Experience with Cisco Jabber and managing multiple concurrent calls Experience in data tracking via Excel/Access Database 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
• Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary
• Some work may require movement between offices - hospitals - warehouses - and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work
• Work may also require walking/standing - in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site
• Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Duties

• Major duties include - but are not limited to: Employees in this assignment serve in a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) above the full performance level
• The Advanced MSA 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 - specialties - and/or care in the community resources
• Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines
• Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model
• Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and adjusts - as necessary
• MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient - interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies (e.g. - assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge
• communicate with non-VA medical facilities Prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results
• manage a system for follow-up care such as consults - tests - etc.)
• Process incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage - plan - problem solve - and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team Sett priorities and deadlines - adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs Identify incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers - as needed Assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions Enters appropriate information into the electronic record Monitors pre- appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
• manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues Evaluate patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment
• informs team members about shared patients - i.e. - those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community
• The AMSA is responsible for receiving and routing all Veterans who report to the facilities for scheduled and unscheduled examinations and appointments
• Ensures that the patients are electronically checked in for their appointments
• Responsible for printing the medication reconciliation program - routing slips and confirming with the patient that pre-registration is completed including demographic and insurance information
• This must be done promptly so the date/time stamp is accurate for each date of visit
• If the information is not correct - incumbent is responsible for updating all pertinent information using the Pre-Registration Menu in VistA
• Provides guidance - directions - and instructions to Veterans in relation to their appointments
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 7:30am - 4:00pm 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)
• 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 #: 54866F / Medical Support Assistant - (Advanced) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized