Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Full Job Description

The incumbent of this position serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant with the Oscar G. Johnson, VAMC (OGJVAMC), Home and Community Based Care department.

This department is a patient-focused, outcome-oriented care system in which efficient coordination of care is of primary concern.

This care is tailored to each individual Veteran's needs, which allows for proper care, education and support of each Veteran.

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.

Education or Training: 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 One year above high school; OR Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Physical Requirements: Must pass a pre-employment physical per VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

English Language Proficiency: MSA's must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

GS-6 Grade Requirements: You must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 level.

Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes.

Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults in a computerized scheduling system; interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

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 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary.

Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items.

Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset. Major Duties:

The incumbent provides administrative support to clinicians and other administrative and professional staff throughout the medical staff office for purposes of coordinating Home and Community Based Care (H&CBC) medical care for Veterans when the inpatient or outpatient provider has deemed such care necessary.

The VACC program requires administrative scheduling and appointment coordination for diagnostic testing, and consultative appointments for many clinical services.

Incumbent must receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests, provide the information desired using privacy rules and established processes.

A caring, compassionate and sensitive manner is essential when explaining procedures to Veterans and their family both in person and on the phone.

This position is responsible for generating authorizations for pre-authorized outpatient, unauthorized and emergency care claims, while making eligibility determinations for the various programs in H&CBC.

He/She acts as a liaison between the veteran and the Home and Community Based vendors.

Obtains requested reports, x-rays, labs and any pertinent information required to complete the VACC Coordination consult in CPRS.

Prioritizes requested procedure based on urgency, combat veteran status and compensation and pension exams. Provides advisory and technical assistance to Veterans and staff in answering questions.

Provides necessary information to the staff and the patient, dealing with a wide range of problems including atypical and complex situations.

Employee works collaboratively with the Medical Center's managers, PACT Teams, VA providers, HCBC Team and discipline specific functional area professional and clinical leaders, as well as Social Workers, Managers and Non-VA healthcare professionals and community vendors.

Employee must acquire knowledge of internal organizational procedures, knowledge of various facility services, knowledge of commonly used medical terminology and abbreviations, and VA acronyms and their meaning.

Develops and continuously monitors dealings with administrative quality assessment and improvement activities.

Demonstrates Patient Centered Care (PCC) through the use of effective communication with patients, families, visitors, and members of the interdisciplinary team, including the patient in mutual goal setting, and providing patient advocacy when appropriate.

Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the Service Chief or supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations Work Schedule: Full Time Mon-Fri 08;00AM-4:30PM.

Telework: Not Suitable Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:08922F