Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Full Job Description

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

This position is located at the Lancaster County VA Medical Center, Willow Street, Pennsylvania and provides non-clinical support to Health Administration Service.

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 and Education.

Experience.

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, Education.

One year above high school; OR, Experience/Education Combination.

Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. English Language Proficiency.

MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.

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: Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the specialized experience for the grade. Experience.

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

Experience includes, but is not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults, including 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; 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 all of 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/. Major Duties:

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Efficiently use multiple VA systems to support daily operations across several clinics and ensure smooth workflow for care teams.

- Review and monitor clinic schedules, adjusting as needed to optimize appointment availability and support service demand.

- Maintain clear and effective communication with patients, clinic staff, VA facilities, and outside partners to ensure coordinated care and accurate information flow.

- Prepare and send routine correspondence to patients. - Manage incoming secure messages from MyHealtheVet, routing information to the appropriate team members in a timely manner.

- Participate in daily huddles and team meetings to coordinate office operations, address issues, and support patient care planning.

- Organize and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and maintain smooth administrative operations.

- Identify incomplete medical encounters in the system and notify providers to support accurate documentation.

- Assist care teams by reinforcing follow-up steps, patient instructions, and administrative requirements.

- Enter and update required information to ensure patient records and appointments are prepared and accurate before visits or procedures.

- Review patient information and clinic schedules to determine when urgent appointments are needed and notify teams of shared or community-care patients.

- Answer phones, greet patients, and ensure messages are routed appropriately within or outside the service area.

- Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments or consults based on provider orders and national scheduling guidelines. - Enter no-show information and ensure documentation is completed accurately.

- Monitor appointment requests across multiple electronic systems to ensure timely scheduling. - Manage both inpatient and outpatient appointment workflows for assigned areas.

- Verify and update patient demographics and insurance information during check-in.

- Coordinate administrative steps related to emergency and non-emergency patient transfers between VA facilities or community hospitals.

- Determine appropriate appointment types based on eligibility (e.g., TRICARE, sharing agreements, VA employees, etc.).

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 9:00am-5:00pm Functional Statement #: FS# 595-05933-F Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

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) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position