Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)- Behavioral Health

About the role

This position is in Behavioral Health Service at the El Paso VA Health Care System (EPVAHCS). The incumbent will be assigned to work within the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team, Community Base Outpatient Clinic's (CBOC), Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), NPAT and will be involved in all aspects of patient access, consults, and scheduling for the service.

Responsibilities

• Serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in the Behavioral Health Service (BHS) at EPVAHCS, impacting the administrative aspect of patient care including access, scheduling/coordinating appointments using advanced clinic access principles, collecting, and updating demographic and insurance information, managing the Electronic Waiting List (EWL), assisting with Community Care Service requests, patient processing, and customer service.
• Responsible for assuring that various aspects of staffing, training, compliance, reporting, quality assurance, and budgetary initiatives are met. These activities directly affect the revenue cycle, patient access to care, hospital performance goals and objectives, as well as VHA public image.
• Identifies and develops ways to resolve problems with the administrative and clinical staff on access, customer service, patient flow, revenue, and data validation issues. Works on processes, action plans, monitoring, and reporting.
• Absorbs a high degree of judgment in responding to both employee and patient concerns and providing solutions to process problems as they affect day-to-day operations. Requires a high degree of judgment in responding to both employee and patient concerns and providing solutions to process problems as they affect day-to-day operations.
• The work is mostly sedentary and is performed in various outpatient clinic or office settings responsible for treating patients with a wide variety of medical problems. The performance of daily rounds to the assigned clinic areas is required. This may include frequent visits to off-site clinics to fill-in for or interact with the clinical support section employees and clinical/administrative staff in these areas.
• May be required to work staggered shifts and/or weekend clinics in support of advanced clinic access initiatives.

Requirements

Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Experience. No experience required. Education. 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).

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. Grade Determinations: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. 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.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. 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 .ii. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. iii. 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. iv. 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. v. 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. .vi. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians

Preferred Experience: Customer Service with experience in de-escalation, problem solving, decision making and good tactful communication skills orally and in writing. Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic to include advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities and team collaboration. Advanced Knowledge of Medical Terminology including documenting/reading administrative notes in medical charts. Ability to receive and sed faxes/scanned documents. Experience with workload reports and data collection (MS Excel) to include meeting deadlines, set priorities and organize the work.