Advanced Medical Support Assistant

The Advanced Medical Support Assistants (AMSA) position includes all PACT teams within Ambulatory Care Service at grade GS-6 can be assigned to East Orange, Lyons or any CBOCs within the VHA NJ HCS. The AMSAs are responsible for assisting the Veterans in providing a smooth process for the management of his/her outpatient appointments.

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 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.
  • Certification: None required.

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 Determinations: Advanced Medical Support Assistant GS-6
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, performing duties including but not limited to: providing specialized and expert administrative patient support; specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources; recommending changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines; utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics; coordinating with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability, monitor clinic schedule & adjust as necessary; develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient; assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, EKG, etc.
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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.
• 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.

Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams , VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; [prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.). Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community). For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time

Preferred Experience: Healthcare Experience: 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the federal system. This includes roles such as medical assistant, medical receptionist, or clinical administrative support in a hospital or clinic.
Medical Terminology: Advanced familiarity with medical jargon is required due to the technical nature of physician notes and clinical processes.
Scheduling & Systems: Hands-on experience with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, appointment scheduling software, and managing multi-line phone systems or virtual patient portals. Interpersonal Skills: The ability to tactfully and effectively communicate with patients, clinicians, and internal staff. Multitasking & Organization: Managing patient flow, check-ins, outside referrals, and scheduling adjustments in high-volume, fast-paced environments. Problem Solving: Capacity to independently set priorities and resolve 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-06.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Scheduling and managing outpatient appointments
• Reviewing clinic appointment schedules to optimize clinic utilization
• Facilitating secure messaging between patients and care teams
• Notifying patients of normal lab results via mail
• Developing and managing tracking systems for follow-up care (consults, tests, etc.)
• Monitoring pre-appointment requirements for patient visits (X-ray, lab work, EKG)
• Participating in daily huddles and weekly team meetings
• Entering and maintaining information in electronic medical records
• Coordinating with PACT on timely closure of clinic appointments
• Scanning non-VA medical documentation daily
• Reviewing open encounters and coordinating clinic cancellations and rescheduling
• Processing ICB insurance capture buffer daily
• Addressing Return to Clinic (RTC) requirements per VA policy
• Assisting with virtual appointment management
• Performing basic eligibility determinations
• Maintaining patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA
• Ordering and managing administrative supplies
• AMSA performs other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 08:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
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 #: 21X72-A
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $417