Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Prosthetics and Sensory Aids

Full Job Description

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Primary Care/Subspecialty Care Service Line. S/he works at the U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care Center, Minneapolis, MN. 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).

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-6 This position is above the full performance level for this job series and requires experience beyond the basic requirement for positions in this occupation.

You must meet the basic requirements and the following: REQUIRED EXPERIENCE: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following: 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; Schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting; Work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work; Communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers; Customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

AND Candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 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 organizes 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 6.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position.

Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Major Duties:

Duties of this position are, but not limited to: The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications.

The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Setting priorities and deadlines; adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.

Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults.

Entering no-show information; monitoring the electronic wait list; preparing for clinic visits. Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility.

Ensuring encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit. Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information.

Processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals. Performing basic eligibility, co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage.

Plans and organizes work with general assistance from the supervisor as to meet local and VA-wide time frames to complete analysis requirements, reports and special assignments and only refers to the non-routine and high technical problems to his/her supervisor.

Responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record.

Routinely communicates with physicians, case managers, and other allied health professional staff using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information.

Works independently making decisions based on guidelines, precedents and regulations and performs duties in such a manner that only minimal supervision is required.

Performance is judged in terms of overall effectiveness of the operation through broad general objectives, the adequacy and accuracy of the work, timeliness, and conformance to established procedures, policies and instructions.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm 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.

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