Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves in the Community Care Department at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The Medical Support Assistant is responsible for a range of duties related to telephone support and management, consult tracking, scanning, receiving and processing of all mail.

NOTE : This position is eligible for 3 days plus of telework after training and will be discussed at interview.

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 : 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

• 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 REQUIREMENTS : Creditable 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
• Grade Determinations : In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates : Medical Support Assistant, GS-4 (a) Experience
• One year of experience in 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 (b) Education
• Two years of education above high school
• c) Assignment
• This is a developmental level MSA position
• It is expected that MSAs at this level receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks
• Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to : scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments;
• referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints;
• interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records;

verifying third party insurance and updating information; obtaining medical information from patients; and coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services

• d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below : i
• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients
• Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e
• computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems;

electronic faxing programs) to support patient care

• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics
• Medical Support Assistant,GS-5 (a) Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes : Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients;

Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e

• computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems;
• electronic faxing programs) to support patient care; Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients;

Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics

• OR (b) Education
• Four years of education above high school
• 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
• 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 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

• d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below : 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
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
• 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 / 117, Part II, Appendix G45
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-5
• Physical Requirements : This is primarily a sedentary position, but the work requires some walking, bending, stooping and carrying of light objects such as manuals, documents, etc
• Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines.

Duties

Queries patient as to current address and phone number, updating information as needed.

Ensures that incoming claims, medical documentation, statements, and general inquiries are properly opened, date stamped, and sorted into established categories for proper processing.

Reviews incoming correspondence to determine the nature of the question, concern, or issue, and directs the documentation to the proper area for resolution.

Views and sorts medical documentation and indexes to the correct veteran by either scanning records to the veteran's chart or properly directs to the Health Information Management Department for scanning.

Assists in training new employees and in updating procedures with experienced employees.

Assists in requesting records from vendors to complete NVCC / Community Care consult closure metrics.

Maintains a cooperative working relationship with co-workers, managers, and patients from a wide range of backgrounds and services.

Demonstrates ability to effectively communicate both orally and in writing.

Promotes teamwork by cooperating with and supporting staff and customers in achieving Medical Center goals and mission.

Manages information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained.

Creates and maintains an environment that ensures confidentiality and privacy of patient information.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday; 7 : 30 AM - 4 : 00 PM Telework Eligible : Telework up to 3 days a week after completing 90 day orientation and successfully meeting required metrics Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000 Financial Disclosure Report : Not required"

Last updated : 2024-03-25