Duties

Summary

The incumbent is assigned to the Ambulatory and Emergency Care Clinical Center (AECCC) at the VA Maryland Healthcare Systems at the Baltimore location. The goal of this position is to perform a variety of administrative duties that facilitate an effective workflow for the clinical staff. This position requires daily communication through face to face interactions with veterans, supervisors, family members, internal customers within VAMHCS, VISN 5, and university affiliates.
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Responsibilities

Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties:
The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) at this grade level is at the Advanced level. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (Patient Aligned Care Team) and/or Specialty clinics. The AMSA at this level works independently and is considered the chief source of patient information and plays an important role in accomplishing the administrative work within the outpatient clinics by the duties listed below:

a. Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230 and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.

b. Daily review of consults (active/pending), EWL, Recall List (Delinquent), Return to Clinic Orders (Query from VS GUI) and View Alerts for accurate disposition.

c. Ensuring appropriate patient actions are taken within VS GUI (scheduling, check-in, check-out, and no-shows).

d. Extracting medical information from electronic records when requested by Providers, Social Workers, Nurses, and Supervisors while maintaining HIPPA standards.

e. Receiving and directing patients and visitors, in person and by telephone, answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referral of questions concerning patients' care.

f. Relaying test results to appropriate medical staff to include recognizing and referring urgent results to the professional staff for immediate action.

g. Verify and update patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data.

h. Ensuring patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations through AudioCare, VeText, etc.).

i. Maintaining the delinquent recall, insurance capture buffer exception list and proper use of Vet Link for clinics assigned.

j. Providing information of medical center policies and procedures.

k. Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.

l. Responsible for the tracking and management of consults for clinics assigned.

m. Responsible for providing feedback to providers when additional information for scheduling is required.

n. Ensuring that consults greater than 90 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider.

Customer Service:
This position is vital in providing customer service at the point of entry for Veterans and Primary Care Residents and Clinicians. The work required contributes to Veteran and public perception of VAMHCS and its commitment to providing excellent health care services to patients. Incomplete or erroneous information could result in lost workload and have a significant impact on future funding and staffing in all services throughout VAMHCS. Inaccurate information given to the Veteran could affect the type of healthcare he/she receives from VA. The MSA meets the needs of customers while supporting the VHA and Medical Center missions. The MSA consistently communicates and treats customers (patients, visitors, volunteers, and all Medical Center staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. He/she provides the customer with consistent Information according to established policies and procedures. He/she handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.

Work Schedule: Monday -Friday, 8am to 4:30pm
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

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:

Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).

Experience and Education.

(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.

Grade Determinations:

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-5] grade level.

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 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45 dated August 1, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally sedentary in nature with some walking, standing and bending. Occasionally requires moderate physical activity, e.g. carrying light items such as books and papers, or lifting stacks of boxes or records. Work is performed in a well-lighted, climate-controlled office.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• VA-Form 10-2850c
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

VA Form 10-2850c Application for Associated Health Occupations can be found at: https://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-2850c-fill.pdf .

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• VA-Form 10-2850c
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.