Medical Support Assistant (Adv

About the role

The position is located in the Health Administration Service (HAS) at VA Montana Health Care System. Serves as the assigned Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in any area of the Medical Center (PACT - Specialty - Support/Ancillary Services - Integrated Call Center - Community Care).

Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively with other members of the assigned team and with expanded health care teams to include pharmacists - social workers - dieticians - behavioral health staff - etc. to provide a robust interdisciplinary approach to care.
• Performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting.
• Advise clinical staff on administrative processes.
• Schedule appointments from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and record patients' desired dates if a provider order is not available.
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information for patients.
• Coordinate administrative functions such as appointment cycles - outside patient referrals - follow-up care - overbooking - provider availability - etc.
• Collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to ensure medical care to patients is met.
• Set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Adhere to VHA scheduling policies and procedures, as well as other HAS and local policies.
• Ensure all appointments are made from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and that when a provider order is not available, the patient's desired date is recorded correctly within the scheduling package.
• Complete the patient check-in process (in its entirety) for their PACTs or specialty providers, including the printing of any necessary documentation needed for the appointment (health summaries - medication lists - daily plans, etc.), pre-registration of patients, Insurance Capture Buffer (IBC) scanning for private insurance, and the usage of VetLink software.
• Collects, scans, and updates health insurance information to aid in the revenue collection process.
• Completes the patient check-out process daily, which includes the completion of Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, the creation of recall reminders, consult follow-up, no-showing patient appointments according to local policy, and any other action required to complete the appointment process.
• Advise sharing beneficiaries of basic eligibility, covered and non-covered services, and program requirements with the thorough knowledge of all component programs.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.
• Utilize reports to assist in the care delivery process, including Encounter Action Required Report, Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary, Consult Tracking Reports (CTR) (in-house and Non-VA Care), and various VHA Support Service Center (VSSC) reports (access - wait times - no-shows and cancellations).
• Process the VHIC Card, assist with Bene Travel requests, understand the Heritage Medication Program, postage meters, and UPS labels.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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.
• Independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Adhere to VHA scheduling policies and procedures, as well as other HAS and local policies.
• Ensure all appointments are made from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and that when a provider order is not available, the patient's desired date is recorded correctly within the scheduling package.
• Complete the patient check-in process (in its entirety) for their PACTs or specialty providers, including the printing of any necessary documentation needed for the appointment (health summaries - medication lists - daily plans, etc.), pre-registration of patients, Insurance Capture Buffer (IBC) scanning for private insurance, and the usage of VetLink software.
• Collects, scans, and updates health insurance information to aid in the revenue collection process.
• Completes the patient check-out process daily, which includes the completion of Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, the creation of recall reminders, consult follow-up, no-showing patient appointments according to local policy, and any other action required to complete the appointment process.
• Advise sharing beneficiaries of basic eligibility, covered and non-covered services, and program requirements with the thorough knowledge of all component programs.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.
• Utilize reports to assist in the care delivery process, including Encounter Action Required Report, Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary, Consult Tracking Reports (CTR) (in-house and Non-VA Care), and various VHA Support Service Center (VSSC) reports (access - wait times - no-shows and cancellations).
• Process the VHIC Card, assist with Bene Travel requests, understand the Heritage Medication Program, postage meters, and UPS labels.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.

Qualifications

• Advanced Medical Support Assistant - GS-6
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• Performing a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting, advising clinical staff on administrative processes, scheduling appointments, monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources, verifying and updating demographics and insurance information, and coordinating administrative functions.
• Demonstrated knowledge - skills - and abilities:
• 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.
• 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.
• Independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Adhere to VHA scheduling policies and procedures, as well as other HAS and local policies.
• Ensure all appointments are made from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and that when a provider order is not available, the patient's desired date is recorded correctly within the scheduling package.
• Complete the patient check-in process (in its entirety) for their PACTs or specialty providers, including the printing of any necessary documentation needed for the appointment (health summaries - medication lists - daily plans, etc.), pre-registration of patients, Insurance Capture Buffer (IBC) scanning for private insurance, and the usage of VetLink software.
• Collects, scans, and updates health insurance information to aid in the revenue collection process.
• Completes the patient check-out process daily, which includes the completion of Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, the creation of recall reminders, consult follow-up, no-showing patient appointments according to local policy, and any other action required to complete the appointment process.
• Advise sharing beneficiaries of basic eligibility, covered and non-covered services, and program requirements with the thorough knowledge of all component programs.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.
• Utilize reports to assist in the care delivery process, including Encounter Action Required Report, Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary, Consult Tracking Reports (CTR) (in-house and Non-VA Care), and various VHA Support Service Center (VSSC) reports (access - wait times - no-shows and cancellations).
• Process the VHIC Card, assist with Bene Travel requests, understand the Heritage Medication Program, postage meters, and UPS labels.
• Ensure that patients are eligible for care at the time of scheduling, utilizing the patient enrollment menu and eligibility criteria.

Skills

• 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.
• 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.
• Independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Adhere to VHA scheduling policies and procedures, as well as other HAS and local policies.
• Ensure all appointments are made from a provider's order (Clinically Indicated Date) and that when a provider order is not available, the patient's desired date is recorded correctly within the scheduling package.
• Complete the patient check-in process (in its entirety) for their PACTs or specialty providers, including the printing of any necessary documentation needed