Medical Support Assistant

Summary

Incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant in the Patient Support Section of Health Administration Service in Lexington - Kentucky. This assignment is at a two-divisional teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Kentucky (UK) Medical Center at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center - Lexington - KY. Incumbent will be assigned to the Cooper or Leestown Division.

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: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.)
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C.
• 7407(a)
• Experience and/or Education requirement Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• or Education
• Two years above high school Licensure/Certification/Registration
• None English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: GS-5 Medical Support Assistant (Full Performance Level) Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4 grade) which is 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 Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position
• Examples of experience 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 VA Handbook 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 in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system
• obtaining medical information from patients
• coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services
• and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• MSAs at this level refer all questions regarding medical attention to the appropriate health care team member
• Note: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to Medical Support Assistant experience or an equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting at the next lower grade level OR Education: Two years of education above high school AND Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below: 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
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person - electronically - and/or by telephone - with internal and external customers
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns - and refer to the appropriate staff - as necessary - to ensure a satisfactory resolution
• Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed
• Information such as ""I was a Medical Support Assistant"" is insufficient to determine your qualifications
• Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title - duties - month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is 05
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 05
• Physical Requirements: The work is mainly sedentary but requires some bending - walking - standing and the carrying of such things as patient records - supplies and inter-office mail.
  
  

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdfDuties Include: Answer 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 Schedule - cancel - re-schedule patient appointments and/or consults Enter no-show information and monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources Participate in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic Monitor both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility Verify and update demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments Coordinate administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment t-type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e. - TRICARE - sharing agreements - collaterals - research patient - VA employee - etc.) Serve as an initial point of contact for the units - clinics - patient - call centers - CitC - to include - but not limited to - scheduling patient appointments - tracking - reviewing - and responding to electronic orders - consults - and other elements in the electronic medical record and medical systems Utilize practical knowledge of computerized data entry - information processing systems and software related to patient care - the healthcare system's organization and services - basic rules and regulations governing visitors and patient treatment Apply - knowledge of standard procedures - utilizing medical records - and medical terminology Work Schedule: Various shifts to include days - evenings - nights - weekends - and holidays
• Schedule will be assigned upon selection
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 67942A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized