Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the Health Administration Division.

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position serves as a Non-VA Care Team Member and is a foundational role within the continuum of patient care working collaboratively with the patient care team as well as a variety of specialty health care providers.

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

English: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English. Education/Experience: - Experience. No experience required.

- Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

Grade Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the grade requirement: GS-3: Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. GS-4: Experience.

One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. OR Education. One (1) year of education above high school. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: - Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.

- Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e.

computer systems, web-based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.

- Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.

- Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-5: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level.

Experience 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 VA Handbook 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.

OR, Education: Two years of education above high school; AND, Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs 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-5.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service Major Duties:

Duties Include: Operates computerized programs and databases in order to enter, modify and retrieve sensitive information/data into or from electronic medical records, scheduling systems and/or reports.

Makes appointments in a clinical setting. Interprets and applies VA Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Codes and VHA Regulations to determine an applicant's proper eligibility for VA Medical Benefits.

Communicates effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels.

Identifies customer's concerns, perform the tasks required to resolve the issue accurately and timely, and follow-up as necessary to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Accurately answers inquiries of visitors and callers and processes requests for the return of phone calls.

Develops and maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.

Assists with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge. Communicates with non-VA medical facilities.

Ensures that patients appointments are appropriately dispositioned and that current procedures are followed through for processing no show appointments in a timely manner.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized. Telework: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 09275F, 09276F, 00926F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized.