Medical Support Assistant - Advanced

01Basic Requirements

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

02Education

High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoke and written English in accordance with 38 USC § 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).

03Grade Determinations

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06: 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/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.

04Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and /or care in the community resources.

Major duties include, but may not be limited to: Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit. Schedule patient appointments by interpreting and verifying provider orders such as Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, Patient Centered Scheduling "recall" requests, consults, New Enrollee Appointment Requests (NEAR) and other order sources.

Schedules future appointments in accordance with provider clinic profiles, Advanced Clinic Access principles, and input from the patient. Generate and provide After Visit Summary for patient following appropriate actions by provider. Canceling and rescheduling appointment request. Completing no-show process including documenting, marking the appointment as a no-show and rescheduling. Monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.

Verifying and updating demographics including temporary addresses, insurance information, and sharing caregiver information. Works closely with involved providers to expedite emergency request to assure timely patientcare. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines.

Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.

Receives and relays a high volume of incoming and outgoing communication via telephone, fax, and email, from patients, staff and outside sources concerning a variety of medical, personnel, and administrative matters. Determines the nature of the inquiry and independently responds or routes to appropriate clinical staff in a timely manner appropriate to the urgency of the correspondence.

Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team. Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed.

Performing clerical duties related to patient care and treatments such as admitting and discharging, travel arrangements, forwarding medication orders, work orders, and maintaining electronic medical charts. Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients. Performs other duties as assigned.

This announcement may be used to fill vacancies at any of the listed locations. Selections will be made as vacancies arise. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm; Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 503-03194-F / Medical Support Assistant - Advanced Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.