Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open only VA employees only. You must submit a non-award SF-50 issued within 12 months of the closing date of this announcement showing that you are current PERMANENT federal employee. If your TENURE on the SF-50 does not show as "1 - PERMANENT," please submit a second SF-50 showing you have one year of Federal Service to be considered. Other Federal Employees, Veterans and the PUBLIC should apply to announcement CBSS-10897259-20-JE

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• The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e., patient aligned care team, or other specialty care setting where the patient aligned care team model is used such as oncology, HIV, SCI, Military Sexual Trauma, etc.) These PACT duties will be preformed 75% of the time.
• The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments
• Participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions
• Participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care
• Facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team
• Educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider
• They develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities
• Notify patients of normal lab results
• Develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.)
• Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs
• May work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record
• Monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• Evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested
• The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Entering no-show information
• Monitoring the electronic wait list
• Preparing for clinic visits
• Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility
• Ensuring encounters are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit
• Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information
• Processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals
• Performing basic eligibility for non assigned Veterans traveling through
• Must utilize the recall reminder clinic for future and delinquent appointments
• Give out medication reconciliation lists to patients at check in
• Handle non-VA records and medications
• Entering refill request in CPRS and alerting the correct provider for refills, and making sure requests for medications to be sent with active refills are requested through the pharmacy for mail
• Handling incoming and outgoing mail and courier bag
• Complies with the mandatory training requirements for the outpatient scheduling process
• The incumbent is responsible for reporting backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or the record
• Answering phone and taking care of the patients needs

Work Schedule: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.
• You MUST meet one of the three combinations of education and experience described below to meet the BASIC qualifications for this position:
  (1) 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,
  (2) Education. One year above high school;
  OR,
  (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

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:
Creditable Experience
(1) 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.
(2) 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.


Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6
(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. This experience must document ALL the following knowledge, skills and abilities at the GS-5 level in order to be considered for equivalent to the GS-6:
i. 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.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
(b) 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.


References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-45.


Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 lbs); Light carrying (under 15 lbs); Use of fingers, Both hands required; Walking (1 hr); Standing (1 hr.); Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/50 and to 20/100 in the other; Hearing aid permitted; Working closely with others; Working alone.

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.

RESUME REMINDER: Please remember to format your experience as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY so that we may give you credit for your experience.

HIGHLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU CLEARLY DOCUMENT THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES LISTED FOR THE POSITION.


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.