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Primary duties of the Medical Support Assistant include, but are not limited to:

• Performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information;
• Utilizes a variety of patient data systems to schedule patient for appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines;
• Responsible for scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and annotates patient records;
• Enters no show information and monitors the electronic wait list;
• Perform front desk duties, receives telephone call, and interacts with both internal and external visitors for clinic visits;
• Monitors both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility;
• Ensures that encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit;
• Verifies and updates demographics and third party insurance; updates information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system;
• Coordinates information and actions related to patient care and services;
• Processes all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals;
• Performs basic eligibility and travel benefits;
• Responsible for panel management for the assigned Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT);
• Assists with communication to and from the team and patient;
• Communicates with physicians, case managers, and other Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members, or allied health professional staff, using sound interpersonal skills and is constantly aware of the sensitive information.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:00AM
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 586-00140-F, 586-000131-F, 586-000132-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Training-Service Agreement and Mobility Agreement required.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

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.
• Experience and Education. One of the following must be met:
  • 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; OR,
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• Certification. None required
• English Language Proficiency. Advanced Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English, as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations. In addition to the Basic Requirements, the following must be met and demonstrated on your resume in order to qualify for each grade level (**Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.**):

GS-5:
(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level (**Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.**);
OR,
(b) Education. Four years of education above high school. Transcript must be submitted.
(c) Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA 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 MSA 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 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; 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.).
(d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1. Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
2. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
3. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
4. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
6. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

References: VA Handbook 5005/53 Part II, Appendix G45 VA Qualification Standard for Medical Support Assistant, GS-0679.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5.

Physical Requirements: Most of the work is performed in an office setting, primarily while seated. The position requires some standing, ambulation, bending and carrying of items such as training materials. In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of patient complaints/concerns within a call setting or face to face.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.