Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

About the role

The incumbent is assigned to Medical Administration Service at the VA Maryland Healthcare System at the Baltimore location. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) is responsible for administrative support of clinical services.

Responsibilities

• Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230(3) and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.
• Verifies and updates patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data.
• Ensures that all patients are identified by photo identification.
• Responsible for receiving and routing all Veterans who report to the facility for scheduled and unscheduled examinations and appointments, assuring that the patients are electronically checked-in for their appointment.
• Responsible for explaining in detail to Veteran about upcoming appointments, ensuring they understand what they must do and where they must go to complete their work-up.
• Responsible for capturing scheduling preference.
• Ensures clinic assigned staff are appropriately utilizing Recall List (Delinquent), Return to Clinic Orders (Query from VS GUI), insurance capture buffer report, pre-registration and view electronic health record (EHR) alerts for accurate disposition daily.
• Ensures patients online appointments (VAOS) are reviewed daily and scheduled within 2 business days from time of receipt from the notification manager.
• Ensures patient encounters are given to the Provider or clinical staff by the end of business each day.
• Ensures patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations).
• Ensures that consults greater than 30 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider.
• Ensures clinic assigned staff is appropriately using the insurance capture buffer exception list and appropriately utilizing Vet Link for clinics assigned.
• Receives and directs patients and visitors by telephone, answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referrals of questions concerning patients' care.
• Directs patients and families to Decedent Affairs regarding death benefits.
• Directs patients to Beneficiary Travel for transportation support and vouchers as required.
• Directs patients to Eligibility and Enrollment for follow up regarding any eligibility issues.
• Orients and provides on-the-job training for new AMSA employees as required in collaboration with Lead MSA and Supervisory MSA.
• Makes patients aware of community care wait time.
• Completes pre-registration call list for patients with future appointments.
• Documents attempts in CTB (consult toolbox).
• Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.
• Reviews and follows up on several reports to include Aged Consult report, Community Care Scheduling Timeliness, Recall Reminder report, Return to clinic orders report.
• Discusses opt-in and opt-out with patients.
• Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.
• Completes pre-registration call list for patients with future appointments.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirements: Citizenship, High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Education: No experience required.
• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in an inpatient or outpatient clinical setting.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Demonstrated ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines.