Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

About the role

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) will function in either Care in the Community (CitC) or Health Administration Service (HAS).

Responsibilities

• Schedules - cancels - reschedules patient appointments and/or consults
• Enters no-show information, monitors appointment requests from multiple electronic sources
• Participates in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic
• Maintains spreadsheets to validate data tracking
• Researches and maintains an updated database of community medical services to assist Veterans with locating medical care in the community
• Screens/receives phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determines the nature of request and provides the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes
• Updates insurance information from Veterans, family members, and other eligible patients
• Promotes Veterans registration for and utilization of MyHealthyVet (MHV)
• Communicates and interacts with patients in a manner appropriate to their cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs

Requirements

• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5)
• Independent performance of a full range of duties related to the delivery of health care services in an inpatient or outpatient setting
• Advise clinical staff on current administrative processes
• Answer phones, greet patients, relay messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, and schedule appointments
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments
• Coordinate administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determine appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status

Qualifications

• 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 spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.7403(f)

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
• 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

Benefits

• Not specified

Pay

• Not specified

Schedule

• Monday - Friday - 8:00 a.m- 4:30 p.m

References

For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards

Duties

The duties of a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) include but are not limited to:

• Care in the Community (CitC): Typing, filing, data entry, scheduling appointments and tests, ensuring transfer of medical records from and to the VAMC and other facilities, scheduling patients' appointments and/or consults, tracking patients' appointment status in the community and maintaining spreadsheets to validate data tracking, researching and maintaining an updated database of community medical services to assist Veterans with locating medical care in the community
• Health Administration Service (HAS): Screens/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes, utilizes call lists and telephones Veterans to pre-register them before their scheduled visits, collects and updates insurance information from Veterans, family members and other eligible patients, promotes Veterans registration for and utilization of MyHealthyVet (MHV), communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient

Physical Requirements

Work is primarily sedentary - although some slight physical effort may be required. The ability to deal effectively with organizational change, role ambiguity, and the stresses of juggling many priorities and rapidly responding to unanticipated critical situations is essential.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives

• Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS)

• Not authorized