The Advanced Medical Support Assistant position provides clerical and administrative support to the patients and staff; this position is located in the Cardiology Section of Specialty Care/Medical Service in the Robley Rex VA Medical Center. Serves as an initial point of contact for Cardiology, Echo, Nuclear, EKG, Cath Lab, and the Sleep Center. Duties may be performed in inpatient/outpatient testing areas.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the cut-off date of each applicant referral for this announcement. 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. Experience and Education: Experience. Six months experience of 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 above high school; OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Certification. None required. 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 3j. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. 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: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6: Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. GS-5 grade level experience includes, but is not limited to, independently performing 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; responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside the unit; scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders; canceling and re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; and, coordinating administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other facilities. AND 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 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. References: 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. 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. 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. 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.
The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports, ensures clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic and make any necessary adjustments. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Develops and maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient and interdisciplinary care team, VA medical centers, and other agencies. Tracks, ensures and verifies encounters and Insurance Card Buffer (ICB) is completed. Explains VA's mandate to collect insurance information to Veterans, their families and other eligible patients. Collects, scans, and updates health insurance information serving a major role in revenue process. Participates in team meetings to manage and plan patient care. Sets priorities and deadlines, adjusts flow and sequencing of work to meet team and patient needs. Collaborates with team members to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and enters appropriate information into the electronic patient medical record. Participates and provides feedback and input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures with team members. Performs administrative follow up actions and independently follows up with team members by sharing information and collaborating with the clinical team to assure continuity of care. Monitors pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure. Develops and maintains specific reports used by the patient care team to monitor, track and trend care delivery as well as participating and leading quality improvement efforts focused on access, quality and customer satisfaction. Manages consult management to include scheduling, monitoring, and disposition of new patient consults. Processes first party requests for medical records and third-party requests for patient medical information from non-VA providers. Instrumental in assisting patients completing authorization forms. Maintains appointment management and coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and the patient. Apprises medical staff to basic administrative policies and procedures dealing with outpatient scheduling and other administrative matters. Serves as a timekeeper for select sections within the service, if required. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm or 7:00am - 3:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc may be approved upon supervisor discretion. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 40196-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized