Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is a foundational role within the Community/Non-VA Care department.

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. 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: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.

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.

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.

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: 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 in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.

Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

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 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.

Preferred Experience: Minimum of 1 year of medical scheduling experience to include basic knowledge of medical terminology and utilization of Microsoft computer applications in addition to healthcare experience utilizing computerized patient medical record programs/ data and experience working in a customer service setting, resolving customer issues, etc.

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 GS 6.

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. Major Duties:

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Care in the Community department.

The incumbent's work impacts the timely administering aspect of patient care, including: proper eligibility review, timely authorization, coordinating care in the community, ensuring care is scheduled and rendered accordingly, consult management, wait list management including VCL (Veterans Choice List) and EWL (Electronic Wait List), obtaining and routing proper medical records, and customer service.

The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model within Care in the community.

The incumbent assists Veterans by explaining community programs, coordinating their care in the community through various avenues, and providing customer service to be the patient's liaison between the VA Medical Center and the community provider.

Incumbent performs a variety of administrative functions associated with patient care and treatment for Care in the Community services which include inpatient, outpatient, and/or GEC program services.

Employee must acquire knowledge of internal organizational procedures, knowledge of various facility services, multiple computer software systems, VA acronyms and abbreviations.

Incumbent creates and issues authorizations for approved care, assists with vendor location when needed, and resolves barriers to obtain care in the community to avoid patient care delay.

Incumbent coordinates with the Care in the Community team to review consult utilization by using various reports and communication methods to effectively support the needs of the team.

The incumbent(s) is responsible for accurate appointment management and the coordination of all administrative information between the community care vendor and the Veteran.

This includes scheduling appointments, data entry, administratively managing consultation requests and the electronic waiting list.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30am Telework: Telework may be advised on an ad-hoc basis at Supervisory discretion. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 40592F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized