Medical Support Assistant

Full Job Description

This Medical Support Assistant position is in the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System of the Medical Administration Service located in Biloxi, MS. Basic Requirements United States 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 and Education. 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 License/Certification/Registration.

None required. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the Basic Requirements, your resume must demonstrate you possess the required experience necessary to possess the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for each grade level.

Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit. GS-05: (a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-04 grade level.

To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your resume that you have experience that includes the ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds, ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation, knowledge of basic medical terminology and skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests.

OR, (b) Education. Two years of education above high school. Transcript must be submitted. (c) Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs.

At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting.

Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes.

The MSA is 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 scheduling guidelines.

Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; 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.). (d) 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.

Preferred Experience: Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize and manage multiple competing tasks.

A high degree of personal and professional accountability, maturity, stability, and the ability to function independently and work effectively as a team with internal and external personnel.

Ability to adapt to changing work assignments as needed to meet facility needs.

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: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated.

However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations. Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

The duties of the Medical Support Assistant include but are not limited to: Coordinating with the with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability and utilization Ensuring clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics Developing and maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies Assisting with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge Communicating with non-VA medical facilities Facilitating/Processing secure messaging with the patient and team Notifying patients of normal lab results Developing and managing a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.

Participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care Identifying incomplete encounters and communicate findings to clinical team members Working with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions Entering appropriate information into the electronic record Monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure Managing consult requests, recall reminders, VA Online Scheduling requests, secure messaging, and Electronic Wait Lists Participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings Performing administrative follow up actions Participating in and independently following up on team huddles Evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested Educating providers about shared patients Registering new patients for care when necessary to facilitate same day appointment scheduling Updating patient demographic data Collecting insurance information Negotiating appointments during checkout Scheduling follow-up/ consult appointments Entering recall reminder requests Contacting patients that fail to appear for scheduled appointments Interpreting and Communicating requirements of national and local scheduling directives, policies, and procedures Scheduling all appointments in a timely manner with patient input Ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations Reading and responding to work related messages in a timely manner Work Schedule: Typically Monday - Friday, 6:00am - 2:30pm; Subject to Change Based on Agency Need.

To be discussed at interview.

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 #: 520-00695-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized