The incumbent is assigned to Medical Administration Service at the VA Maryland Healthcare System at the Perry Point location. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant is responsible for the administrative support of the clinical services. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.
Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). 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. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook. 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. Grade Requirements: Creditable Experience: Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in anon-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience includes but not limited to: Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes, answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with scheduling guidelines, 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, verifying and updating demographics and insurance information. Assignment. 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 makes adjustments 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.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes 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; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies 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; evaluates 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). For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. 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. ii. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. iii. 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. iv. 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. v. 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. vi. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. 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). Preferred Experience: Customer service, medical terminology. 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-6.
DUTIES: The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model for the Medical Administration Service and/or Specialty Clinics. The AMSA works independently and is considered chief source of patient information. Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230(3) and VHA Directive 1232(2) including canceling, rescheduling, and no show patient appointments and/or consults. Verifies and updates patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data Ensures that all patients are identified by photo identification Responsible for receiving and routing all Veterans who report to the facility for scheduled and unscheduled examinations and appointments, assuring that the patients are checked-in electronically. Responsible for explaining in detail to Veteran about upcoming appointments, ensuring they understand what they must do and where they must go to complete their work-up. Ensures clinic assigned staff are appropriately utilizing Recall List, Return to Clinic Orders, Insurance capture buffer report, pre-registration and view Electronic Health Record (EHR) alerts for accurate disposition daily. Ensures patients online appointments (VAOS) are review daily and scheduled within 2 business days from time of receipt from the notification manager. Ensures patient encounters are given to the Provider or clinical staff by the end of business each day. Ensures patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no­ shows and patient cancellations). Ensures that consults greater than 30 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider. Ensures clinic assigned staff is appropriately using the insurance capture buffer exception list and appropriately utilizing Vet Link for clinics assigned. Receives and directs patients and visitors by telephone, answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referral of questions concerning patients' care. Directs patients and families to Decedent Affairs regarding death benefits. Directs patients to Beneficiary Travel for transportation support and vouchers as required. Directs patients to Eligibility and Enrollment for follow up regarding any eligibility issues. Orients and provides on-the-job training for new AMSA employees as required in collaboration with Lead MSA and Supervisory MSA. Monitors pre-appointment requirements to ensure readiness for the patient visit; perform administrative follow-up actions; evaluate patient information and clinic schedule list. Monitors CTM to review the status of consults, at minimum to include consults greater than 90 days, unscheduled no activity greater than 30 days linked to past appointment, and other status that require administrative/MSA action. Document attempts in CTB (consult toolbox). Make patients aware of community care wait time. Responsible for submitting Patient Tracking form upon request from supervisor. Responsible for reviewing and following up on several reports to include Aged Consult report, Community Care Scheduling Timeliness, Recall Reminder report, Return to clinic orders report. Discuss opt-in and opt-out with patients. Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes. Completes pre-registration call list for patients with future appointments. Responsible for other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Wednesday and Friday, 7:00am-5:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 25563-F Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional