The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) is assigned to the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) and performs general AMSA duties as a member of a Referral Coordination Team (RCT). The RCT consists of dedicated clinical staff & clinical support staff whose primary goal is to streamline the referral process to ensure that every Veteran has a complete picture of their care options so they can make the most informed care decisions and schedule their appointment in VA or the community.

Duties

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Available - Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 03028F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required As a frontline staff member in contact with patients, other VA staff and participating community care provider offices, the incumbent sets the tone for perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA. A high degree of tact and diplomacy is required when dealing with veterans who have multiple health problems and who may be frustrated with the administrative process associated with diagnosis and treatment. A caring, compassionate, and sensitive manner is essential when explaining procedures to veterans and family members on the phone. 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 functions to include, but not limited to outside patient referrals, follow-up care, and provider availability. The incumbent provides guidance in the execution of the policies and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs related to consult management, and the community care program and must maintain up-to-date knowledge of any applicable changes to them. The RCT AMSA coordinates and works collaboratively with the RCT members, facility community care program, the Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) and Specialty Care clinicians, and other staff within VA and outside VA. The RCT AMSA is responsible for facilitating accessible care to meet patient needs. Duties include, but are not limited to: Performs assigned duties in a manner that promotes quality health care, outstanding customer service, and the maintenance of an environment committed to serving the veteran. Reports any backlogs and any difficulties in meeting deadlines. Manages worklists as outlined in VHA policy. Accurately maintains the consult tracking package. Maintaining consults includes changing the consult status each time the consult is processed, such as: received and scheduled. Utilizes the community care tools admin screening triage tool, HealthShare Referral Manager (HSRM), Community Provider Locator (CPL) and demonstrates knowledge of the Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE). Capture the Veteran's community care appointment scheduling preferences using the Consult Toolbox (CTB) unless the Veteran decides to self-schedule. Conduct admin triage on consults/referrals when appropriate using the admin Triage Tool to identify level of care coordination. Contact the patient and discusses options for internal/direct VA care vs. Community Care (when eligible) when the Clinical RCT determines it is appropriate, based on clinical complexity requested. Documents the discussion in the electronic medical record. Demonstrates understanding of the purpose of the Standard Episode of Care (SEOC) and applies appropriate SEOC when the admin triage tool indicates a basic level of care coordination. Utilize a global knowledge base to provide timely and appropriate telephone caller referral and/or problem resolution. Serves as the coordinator of incoming telephone calls, receiving a wide range of inquiries, utilizing administrative systems knowledge to identify patient/caller needs, practicing independent decision-making, coordinating care needs, and directing problem resolution as appropriate. Act as veteran experience champions, as the employee attempts to resolve patient needs to the best of their ability within their designated role. Ability to actively read and understand the needs of the Veteran or provider about their authorization process through CPRS, HSRM, and Provider Profile Management System (PPMS), and to educate callers regarding the authorization process. Proficient with typing skills, speed, accuracy, and grammar due to the significant amount of documentation. Prepares, composes, and reviews outgoing correspondence for the purpose of obtaining or supplying information. Provide support to the VASNHCS Community Care Program through performing functions including monitoring electronic faxes to retrieve medical records obtained from scheduled community appointments. Responsible for following established guidelines for the upload of medical records into CPRS/VistA Imaging and alert appropriate clinical staff to review and confirm the information is related to the scheduled community appointment. Ensures all appointments are scheduled timely and the provider and patient's desired dates and preferences are met. Must have and maintain a valid unrestricted driver's license. Perform other duties as assigned to accomplish the mission of the RCT program.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/27/2023. 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. English Language Proficiency: Advanced Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy. Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the 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. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time . Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service. 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). Grade Determinations: For GS-06 In addition to the basic requirements you must demonstrate that you possess one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-05). You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities based on your application for this position: Please make sure that each is addressed in detail in the body of your resume. 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 healthcare process including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient healthcare 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, PART II, APPENDIX G45 Medical Support Assistant VA Qualification Standards. Can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: This is primarily a sedentary position. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Education

There is no education substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System 975 Kirman Avenue Reno, NV 89502 US
• Name: Brittany Strite
• Phone: 3045797687
• Email: [email protected]