Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is a highly specialized position and performs multiple duties.

The incumbent performs administrative and clerical support work in the Whole Health Service (WHS). Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.).

Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Experience. No experience required. Education.

High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

Licensure/Certification/Registration. None Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. English Language Proficiency.

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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: 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.

GS-6 Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level.

GS-05 equivalent experience includes, but is not limited to: performing a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting; advising 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 VHA national 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 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.) Candidates also 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. 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.

Preferred Experience: 1 year experience working in a clinical environment coordinating clinic schedules for providers (e.g.

medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists/psychiatrists).

1 year experience scheduling patients in a medical appointment software in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

1 year experience with medical terminology in a interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

1 year experience managing patient communications in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (e.g. telephone and/or e-mail).

1 year experience with documenting appropriate information into an electronic medical record.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Major Duties:

Duties include but are not limited to: The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model in PACT or specialty care setting where the PACT model is used and may be required to serve on more than one team.

Responsible for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.

The incumbent will schedule appointments in accordance with current established VA/VHA Directives, Handbooks, policies and procedures.

The incumbent will daily review active/pending consults, Electronic Wait List, and Recall List reports for accuracy and disposition.

Supports patient safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients using two forms of identification, name and full Social Security Number.

Explains the VA's mandate to collect insurance information to veterans, their families, and other eligible patients.

He/she collects, scans, and updates health insurance information serving a major role in the revenue process. The incumbent promotes veteran registration for and utilization of My HealtheVet (MHV).

When records are received, the incumbent will ensure that all necessary health/administrative information are integrated into Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) by scanning the documents into the records.

The incumbent fully participates in the daily teamlet huddles and weekly team meetings to manage and plan patient care, setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the patient/workflow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.

Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 0800-1630 Telework: Ad-Hoc Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized