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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) Near Saginaw, MI

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.
• 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 are acceptable.
• 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.
• Grandfathering Provision All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, [which] are [a] part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  1. Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.
  2. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  3. If an employee who was converted to [Title] 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience at the GS-5 includes but is not limited to: scheduling, cancelling, re-scheduling patients appointments and/or monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility, ensuring encounter forms 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, co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage, etc.

Additionally, you will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Please make sure that each is addressed in your application package.

1. 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.
2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: APPENDIX G45. MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT QUALIFICATION STANDARD GS-0679.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. The employee sits comfortable to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, or carrying of light items such as manuals or files. The work does not require special physical demands.

Responsibilities:

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until Wednesday, March 19, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be January 5, 2024, with two subsequent cut-off dates on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) provides the majority of the healthcare needs for an assigned panel of patients. The AMSA work collaboratively with other members of an expanded health care Primary Care Team including pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, behavioral health staff, etc. to provide a robust interdisciplinary approach to care. Important interfaces and collaborations also occur with larger health care system providers including VA and non VA specialists, hospitals, diagnostic and treating facilities, and community based programs. The Advanced Level MSA position can also serve as a Clinic Clerk for a Specialty Clinic area to include Compensation and Pension (C&P) and will be assigned more specific duties to that Specialty or C&P Clinic area.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e. PACT, Specialty Clinics, C&P, Community Care) and performs receptionist duties, customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for all Community Care.
• Maintains effective and efficient communication with Community Care providers to insure they accept VA patients and payments, prepare any required pre-appointment documents, enter the authorization within the Fee Basis Claims System (FBCS), schedules the appropriate level of care, and documents the schedule in the appropriate consult.
• Incumbent must screen/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Schedule appointments accurately and in a timely manner. All appointments will be made with the patient's input by phone. This may require a high level of coordination to avoid patients having to make multiple trips to the medical center or clinic whenever possible.
• Daily review of active/pending consults for all Community Care categories of care for accuracy and disposition.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm, OR 8:00am-4:30pm, OR 8:30am-5:00pm
Telework: Not Eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 91641-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Job Summary