Medical Support Assistant (Adv

About the role

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant works in the Business Administration Service at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in Las Vegas, NV. The incumbent's work impacts the administrative aspect of patient care, including access, scheduling and coordinating appointments using advanced clinic access principles, collecting and updating demographic and insurance information, patient processing, and customer service.

Qualifications

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

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience and Education: One of the following:
  • Six months 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 this position; OR
  • One year above high school; OR
  • Equivalent combination of experience and education 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: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) – GS-6

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level with Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (all required):
  • 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, including 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.

Assignment: 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. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. 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. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge, communicate with non-VA medical facilities, prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results, manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, 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 GS-06.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Responsibilities

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) Health Benefits/Enrollment Clerk works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model and performs receptionist duties, customer service, and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment access to care for patients. Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Coordinates administrative services for Veterans, family members, caregivers, and the public, as well as administrative and clinical staff, to ensure continuity of inpatient and outpatient care.
• When records are received, ensures that all necessary health/administrative information are integrated into the VA software systems for enrollment and care by scanning the documents.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with all clinical and administrative staff in determining priorities of activities in support of direct patient care.
• Knowledge to assume the role of a Transportation Specialist or Medical Support Assistant (MSA) during special projects or heavy workload, for leave, vacancies, or when the Transportation Specialist are detailed to fill-in other areas.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect workload data.
• Provides administrative support to one or more outpatient clinics and the main hospital campus and is an integral member of the team to effectively conduct day-to-day administrative operations relating to veteran benefits.
• Responsible for accurate appointment management and the coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and the patient.
• Updates and verifies demographic information, schedules appointments, collects insurance information, performs data entry, and notifies the patient of their new patient scheduled appointment.
• Knowledge of clinic procedures and regulations, basic medical terminology, and skill in operating computer systems and applications such as VISTA, ESR, BTSSS, CPRS, and Microsoft applications to accurately enter or extract information.
• Screens/receives phone calls