Medical Support Assisstant

Full Job Description

This position is located in Patient Business Services at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Medical Center- Contact Center.

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is responsible for performing a variety of technical support duties that facilitate the work of physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nursing assistants, and other members of the medical facility who provide direct patient care.

MSAs are considered chief sources of patient care and patient flow information.

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. 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: Medical Support Assistant, GS-05 Experience.

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; This experience may include but is not limited to; receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks.

Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

MSAs at this level refer all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care team member. OR, Education. Two years of education above high school.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Candidates must demonstrated all of the KSA's below: Ability to operate computerized programs and [systems] in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information(PII) into or from electronic [health] records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.

Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with [internal and external customers.

Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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-05.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary. It typically requires sitting with sustained periods of concentration.

There will be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of relatively light objects. The position may also require stooping, reaching, lifting, pulling, and other moderate exertion or strain.

Incumbent may occasionally have to walk some distance to a meeting. Major Duties:

The Medical Support Assistant performs clerical work in support of the care and treatment given to patients.

The incumbent performs duties related to scheduling per the National Scheduling Directive and will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications and Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR).

Duties at this level include, but are not limited to: Responsible for 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.

Participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic.

Screens/receives phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determines the nature of request and provides the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.

Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.

Notifies supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes. Daily review of active/pending consults.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 91462-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized