Medical Support Assistant - Health Admin

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Omaha (NE); On-site; USD 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Omaha, NE seeks a Medical Support Assistant to provide outpatient scheduling and clerical support across clinics and call centers.

The role includes handling patient messages, coordinating appointments, and assisting care teams to ensure timely treatment. The position requires basic medical terminology knowledge, strong English communication, and the ability to operate office systems; no prior experience is required beyond the stated educational

Qualifications

• KSAs required include knowledge of basic medical terminology, handling patient messages, and using office systems.
• Customer service skills to address concerns and coordinate with care teams.
• Ability to operate scheduling and records software to support patient care.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and reschedule patients for treatment.
• Interview patients to obtain appointment details.
• Refer patients to appropriate medical clinics as needed.
• Provide information to resolve patient complaints.
• Coordinate with internal and external customers for timely care.
• Review and document electronic health records and administrative data.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Office software

Scheduling

Independent work

Professional communication

Education

High School Diploma / GED

Job description

The Outpatient Scheduling Service Medical Support Assistant covers administrative support positions that care and give treatment in inpatient units, outpatient clinics, patient scheduling, call centres, CITC and ancillary support services. 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.
• English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Education/Experience:
  • Experience. No experience required.
  • Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of 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

GS-03: Entry Level

Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-04: Developmental

Experience. One year of experience in clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position.

OR

Education. One year of education above high school.

AND

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

• KSA-1: Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• KSA-2: Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.
• KSA-3: Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
• KSA-4: Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web-based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

GS-05: Full Performance
Experience

One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-04, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

OR

Education. Two years of education above high school.

AND

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

• KSA- 1: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• KSA-2: Skill in customer service with the ability] to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• KSA-3: Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive [medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
• KSA-4: Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• KSA-5: Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• KSA- 6: Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with [internal and external customers.

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-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.

Physical Requirements:

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.