Medical Support Assistant

Summary
The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information - refer to Required Documents below. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides work relating to the care and treatment of patients. Serves as a point of contact for scheduling appointments - tracking - reviewing - and responding to electronic orders - consults - and other elements in the patient record and medical systems.

Qualifications
The following are requirements for appointment as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). These requirements apply to all VHA MSAs in the General Schedule (GS)-0679 series.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency
• MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook Part II - Chapter 3 - Section A - paragraph 3.j
• Experience and Education
• Experience
• Six months experience 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 the position
• OR Education
• One year above high school TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED
• OR Experience/Education Combination
• Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• Transcripts Required
• Certification
• None required
• Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices
• To be creditable - the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge - skills - and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting
• Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting
• Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity (difficulty) - and a range of varieties as described in this standard - at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Part-Time Experience
• Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a [non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek
• For example - an MSA employed 20 hours a week - or on a 1/2-time basis - would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above - the following experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Advanced Medical Support Assistant - GS-6 Experience - One (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• This experience may include but is not limited to
• independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting
• Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes
• The AMSA is responsible for answering phones - greeting patients - relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit - scheduling appointments - including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Assignments at this level include - but are not limited to: scheduling - canceling - re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults
• entering no-show information
• monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources
• participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility
• verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments
• Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e. - TRICARE - sharing agreements - collaterals - research patient - VA employee - etc.)
• Note: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 6
• Physical Requirements: The work of this position is primarily sedentary in an office setting - primarily while seated working closely with others or alone
• There may be some walking - standing - bending - kneeling - carrying of light items under 15 pounds - reaching above shoulder - driving an automobile - etc
• The work environment typically involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of a medical office and/or meeting or training room
• The Advanced MSA is required to sit for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while having face to face contact with Veterans and answering the telephone
• In addition - there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern
• The work area is adequately lighted - heated - and ventilated
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: Medical Support Assistant: This is an Open Continuous Announcement that will be used for filling Advanced Medical Support Assistants for any of the facilities/services located within the John D
• Dingell VA Medical Center through December
• Qualified applicants will be referred as vacancies become available
• We utilize Open Continuous announcements to accept applications in anticipation of vacancies
• Extended announcements provide us a readily available source of applicants do when vacancies do occur
• If a vacancy does not occur - no further notification concerning the announcement will be provided
• The work includes but is not limited to - scheduling patient appointments - tracking - reviewing - and responding to electronic orders - consults - and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems
• This series includes work that requires a practical knowledge of computerized data entry - information processing systems and software related to patient care - the healthcare system's organization and services - basic rules and regulations governing visitors and patient treatment - knowledge of standard procedures - utilizing medical records - and medical terminology
• 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 to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics - and makes adjustments as necessary
• Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient - interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies
• Process incoming patient secure messaging and coordinates with care team as appropriate
• participates in 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
• as needed
• assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions
• enters appropriate information into the electronic record
• monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
• manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment
• informs team members about shared patients
• Work Schedule:Typically administrative in nature (Monday - Friday)
• Individual schedules will be discussed during the interview process and are subject to change based on the needs of the Agency
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $ may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: AD-HOC may be authorized per Agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 91110-O Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized