Advanced Medical Support Assistant- (Health Administration)

Full Job Description

The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To perform administrative and clerical support work relating to the care and treatment given to patients of the inpatient units, outpatient clinics, and ancillary support services at these facilities.

The Organizational Location of the Position is: Health Administration Service, VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS). Basic Requirements: United States 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.

(1) 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, (2) Education.

One year above high school; OR, (3) Experience/Education Combination.

Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Grandfathering Provision.

All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.(2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

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.

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: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. 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: 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: Previous clinical experience Previous experience scheduling: Appointments, Cancellations, Labs, X-Ray Previous experience providing customer service and resolving informal complaints Previous experience verifying and updating insurance Previous experience working in a team environment Previous experience working independently 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for 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 Major Duties:

Duties include but are not limited to: Receives, relays and/or answers incoming and outgoing telephone and electronic messages.

Answers questions such as those dealing with the patient's eligibility for services, availability of appointments, procedures for obtaining an appointment, requests for appointments and/or appointment changes.

Schedules, cancels, reschedules follow-up and/or consult appointments. Performs basic eligibility and copays determinations and preauthorization actions.

Processes emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals. Possess the knowledge and understanding of the guidelines associated with the Electronic Wait List.

Monitors, request, scan and updates patient insurance information via insurance buffer software (ICB-NTX-live) and or the Preregistration program.

Verifies, updates, and confirms current demographic information from Kiosk in Vet Link, and use of Veteran Scheduling Enhancement (VSE) and/or Veterans Health Information and Technology Architecture (Vista) software packages- preregistration menu when patient's check-in for their scheduled or unscheduled appointment.

Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) performs pre-registration via telephone during pre appointment and pre-registration calls by proper identification of patients by requesting identifiers such as date of both, next of kin and full social security number.

Provides patient with travel voucher during or after appointment time.

Resolves informal complaints and responds to request for non-technical information on such subjects as status of reports/laboratory work, suspense dates, hours of operation, how to complete various medical forms, etc.

Contacts providers/intern for confirmation and apprises supervisor of any changes.

Updates documents that reflect the changes in the staffing of providers in the reports that are being provided to upper management and/or outgoing sources.

Enters information such as clinic appointment, no-show, clinic or patient cancellation data into the VSE or Vista information system(s) and software.

Generates a variety of documents/reports for the clinic/section. Provides clinical staff with clinic availability profiles to improve and compliment Access.

Other responsibilities include: Participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record.

Monitor pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, etc).

Participates and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings.

Performs administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care.

Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VA's or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm or 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, based on the needs of the Service.

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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 50525-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized