The Columbus VA Medical Center is recruiting for an Advanced Medical Support Assistant to function in Primary Care Service.

Duties

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position serves as a Community Based Outpatient Clinic Clerk and is a foundational role within the VHA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) initiative. The MSA reports directly to the Primary Care Outpatient Clininc's Clinical Nurse Manager. Patient care is delivered in a team based model known as the teamlet. Members of the teamlet include the MSA, a Registered Nurse Care Manager, a Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse and a primary care provider. The teamlet provides the majority of the healthcare needs for an assigned panel of patients. The teamlet works 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. Performs receptionist duties, customer service and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics. He/she must assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs. Supports patient safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients through the use of two forms of identification, name and Date of Birth. The patient may also present the Veterans Identification Card (VIC) for identification. He/she must use each interaction with the patient to validate and update patient demographic information including but not limited to address, phone number(s), email addresses, next of kin and emergency contact data, employment status of the Veteran and spouse (if applicable), either in person as part of the pre-registration process during check-in or over the phone, to decrease the incidence of returned mail due to incorrect addresses and inability to contact patient by phone due to incorrect number. The incumbent monitors enrolled patient database information within their assigned teamlet on a regular basis (at a minimum, annually) to perform updates to health insurance data, income assessments for the Means Test and Pharmacy Co-pay Exemption programs as mandated by law. Failure to act upon indication for a required means test or insurance update may result in inaccurate billing of patients and result in missed crediting of workload visits for the CBOC. Impact to the CBOC, VA ACC and patients are costly and time consuming to correct. Verifies eligibility /entitlement for benefits of all applicants using various methods including income assessments, military discharge documents, computer hospital inquiry (HINQ), Veterans Information Solution (VIS) and other means, such as communications with VA Regional Office or VA Records Processing Centers. The process of verifying eligibility is complicated and criteria differ for each type of benefit applied for. The incumbent advises the Veterans of their entitlement to various medical benefits and discusses co-payment requirements of Veterans in discretionary categories. Extreme tact, diplomacy and privacy are required to explain complicated laws in this area. Extensive knowledge of the local and parent medical facility and policies is required to respond to inquiries from Veterans, VA ACC staff, and other agencies regarding applying for care, eligibility, etc. Using the Veterans Identification Card (VIC) system, incumbent accurately generates patient data cards for Veterans applying for care. Supports enrollment in the VA healthcare system by recognizing Veterans' enrollment and priority status, and as appropriate, provide direction regarding completion of initial registration and annual means tests. The accurate entry of complete registration information will be completed within allowable timeframe following receipt of application and discharge documentation. Ability to access supplemental service verification data through online sources (HINQ,VIS). Further supports enrollment into VA healthcare via coordinated and scheduled outreach activities in the local community. Incumbent must have a basic knowledge of beneficiary travel and will assist as a backup for this program. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday through Friday, 7:30AM to 4:00PM Compressed/Flexible:Not Available Telework/Virtual: Not available

Requirements

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. 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 3.j. Grade Determinations Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. 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. ii. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. iii. 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. iv. 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. v. 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. vi. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/117 PART II APPENDIX G45 - August 1, 2019 Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Chalmers P Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic 420 North James Road Columbus, OH 43219 US
• Name: Aubrey Kipp
• Phone: 269-275-6381
• Email: [email protected]