Duties

The AMSA should independently manage position responsibilities with minimal supervision, as well as set priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. The AMSA functions as an expert authority for all tasks associated with outpatient scheduling, patient registration, beneficiary travel, and identification and capture of insurance information. As an expert, the MSA provides technical support to professional staff and other medical center employees, advising staff on appropriate administrative procedures to follow. The assigned outpatient clinic duties include:

• Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230(3) and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.
• Verifies and updates patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data.
• Ensures clinic assigned staff are appropriately utilizing Recall List (Delinquent), Return to Clinic Orders (Query from VS GUI), insurance capture buffer report, and view electronic health record (EHR) alerts for accurate disposition daily.
• Ensures patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations through AudioCare, VeText, etc.).
• Ensures that consults greater than 30 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider
• Coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary) and make any necessary adjustments
• Extracts medical information from electronic records when requested by Providers, Social Workers, Nurses, and Supervisors while maintaining HIPPA standards.
• Ensures clinic assigned staff is appropriately using the insurance capture buffer exception list and appropriately utilizing Vet Link for clinics assigned.
• Receives and directs patients and visitors during clinic visits, answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referral of questions concerning patients' care.
• Relays test results to appropriate medical staff to include recognizing and referring urgent results to the professional staff for immediate action.
• Directs patients to Beneficiary Travel for transportation support and vouchers as required.
• Orients and provides on-the-job training for new AMSA employees as required in collaboration with Lead MSA and Supervisory MSA.
• Monitors pre-appointment requirements to ensure readiness for the patient visit; perform administrative follow-up actions; evaluate patient information and clinic schedule list.
• Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Adv Med Support Assistant/PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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
• Participation in the seasonal influenza and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination programs are requirements for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
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 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 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; OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience acceptable. Grade Determinations: GS-6

Preferred Experience: Experience should have been gained in a medical setting, preferably inpatient. Examples of qualifying experience would include duties such as, but not limited to: admitting, transferring, and discharging patients, maintaining patient files, verifying and acting on physician orders, reception of patients and their families, coordinating interdisciplinary team communication, scheduling post hospitalization follow up, data entry. Experience in inpatient units as support by ward administration including: general medical, surgical, oncology, intensive care, pre-operative assessment, ambulatory surgery, post anesthesia care, psychiatry, substance abuse treatment, short term rehab, long term care, and hospice units. Knowledge and ability to 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; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team.

Grade Determinations:
GS-6 Advanced MSA
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-05

Examples of experience at the GS 05 level but not limited to:
1. Ability to operate computerized programs and databases in order to enter, modify and retrieve sensitive information/data into or from electronic medical records, scheduling systems and/or reports.
2. Knowledge of basic medical terminology.
3. Ability to make appointments in a clinical setting.
4. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties, including setting priorities and coordinating work.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels.

GS-6 Advanced MSA
Assignment. 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.). 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. 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; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; 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 the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. 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; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; 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; 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; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about shared patients.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:
1. Ability to collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
2. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.
3. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care.
4. Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care, and the revenue process
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.pdf

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS06.

Physical Requirements: A pre-placement physical examination is required for all full-time, part-time and intermittent employees identified by VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness for candidates for appointment in VA. The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies. The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some bending, walking, standing, and carrying of light items such patients' files, mail, and records. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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