The position is located in the Health Administration Service (HAS) at VA Montana Health Care System (VAMTHCS). The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e., patient aligned care team, or other specialty care setting where the patient aligned care team model is used such as oncology, HIV, SCI, Military Sexual Trauma, etc.) for VAMTHCS.
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. 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; (A transcript must be submitted with your application if you basing all or part of your qualifications on education) OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. 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. 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 Requirements In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met: Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6 Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. The required specialized experience for this position includes: performing a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting, advises clinical staff on administrative processes, scheduling appointments, monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources, verifying and updating demographics and insurance information, and coordinating administrative functions. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Candidates must also demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. 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-6. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. While working in the clinic, physical demands include walking, getting up and down from sitting to retrieve various items and carrying items such as papers, folders, belongings, etc. Crouching and bending are required to file documents and attend to supply needs. Although constant demands, such as continually ringing telephones and continual work interruptions by staff and patients, sometimes make it very difficult for the medical support assistant to leave the work area for even a short period of time. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.
Major duties of the Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) include, but are not limited to: The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e. Patient Aligned Care Team or other specialty care setting). The Advanced MSA serves as an integral part of the care team, providing administrative support to clinical and professional staff throughout the facility. The Advanced MSA is responsible for adhering to the VHA scheduling policies and procedures, as well as other HAS and local policies. This includes all aspects related to Clinically Indicated Date (CID), Desired Date (DD), Electronic Wait List (EWL), New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) list, Patient Care Management Module (PCMM) Inactivation's, Recall Reminder, Pre-Registration, Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB), Release of Information (ROI), and clinic cancellations. The incumbent will ensure all appointments are made from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and that when a provider order is not available, the patient's desired date is recorded correctly within the scheduling package. The Advanced MSA is responsible for patient check-in process (in its entirety) for their PACTs or specialty providers, including the printing of any necessary documentation needed for the appointment (health summaries, medication lists, daily plans, etc.),pre-registration of patients, Insurance Capture Buffer (IBC scanning for private insurance, and the usage of VetLink software. The incumbent promotes the use of the check-in kiosks, and its additional functionalities such as Release of Information (ROI) requests and Beneficiary Travel (BT) requests. The Advanced MSA is responsible for explaining the VHA mandate to collect insurance information to Veterans and their families. The incumbent collects, scans, and updateshealth insurance information to aid in the revenue collection process. The Advanced MSA completes the patient check-out process daily, which includes the completion of Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, the creation of recall reminders, consult follow-up, no-showing patient appointments according to local policy, and any other action required to complete the appointment process. The Advanced MSA is responsible for utilizing the Electronic Wait List (EWL) appropriately. The incumbent is also responsible for managing the Recall Reminder Delinquency list and ensuring that appropriate actions are being taken to attempt to schedule patient appointment. The Advanced MSA is responsible for ensuring that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria. The incumbent also acts upon the Audiocare generated reports on a daily basis. The incumbent is responsible for following the proper procedures in regards to outside medical records (sending to the appropriate department for scanning when received). The Advanced MSA is responsible for utilizing reports to assist in the care delivery process. Reports include but are not limited to: Encounter Action Required Report, Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary, Consult Tracking Reports (CTR) (in-house and Non-VA Care), various VHA Support Service Center (VSSC) reports. VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm or as agreed upon with the possibility of extended hours and weekends. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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: Ad-Hoc Functional Statement #: 436-51936-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized