Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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: None
• Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06 Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5)
• 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 health care 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, and 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.)
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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
• 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required
• The ability to deal effectively with organizational change, role ambiguity and the stresses of juggling many priorities and rapidly responding to unanticipated critical situations is essential.