The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is primarily responsible for providing administrative support to the professional staff in health care delivery in a diversified ambulatory care setting, utilizing working knowledge of all medical center programs and services and is the focal point for both veterans and clinical staff, helping and acting upon administrative matters in the veterans' interest to include duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

Duties

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) assignments include but are not limited to: interacting with both internal and external customers; establishing and maintaining medical outpatient and inpatient charts; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system and pre-registration screens; scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; provides clerical support to include, but not limited to preparing/mailing letters, placing phone calls, printing labels/armbands, maintaining/updating rosters and phone lists; accurately processing all patient movements to include inner ward transfers, discharges, return absent sick, authorized absents 96 hrs pass; screens for administrative and medical documentation (i.e. advance directive screening note; organ donation screening notes). canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; assist with monitoring the electronic wait list; facilitates and assists with patient travel activities; preparing for clinic visits; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments ; ensuring encounter forms are administratively completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit; v verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; conducting all means tests when appropriate; gives advisory and technical assistance to all applicable customers regarding eligibility and enrollment services, programs and activities; accurately interprets eligibility requirements in order to make eligibility determination to ensure that veterans and beneficiaries meet legal/contractual requirements for medical care; processes all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities and non-VA hospitals and facilities; communicating pertinent information to patients, co-workers and clinical staff members; performing accurate eligibility assessments, co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage; Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm or 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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. 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. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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. 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). Medical Support Assistant, GS-3 Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment. This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. At this level, MSAs apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients. They utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotates patient records. They perform front desk duties, receives telephone call, and visitors to the MSA unit. They make and cancel appointments, review patient records for necessary information, and review patient demographics and insurance verification. They consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments. ii. Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems. iii. Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care. Medical Support Assistant, GS-4 Experience. One year of 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 position ;OR, Education. Two years of education above high school. Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks. Assignments at this level 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients. ii. Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care. iii. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients. iv. Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics. Medical Support Assistant, GS-5 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; OR, Education. Four years of education above high school Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The MSA is responsible for answering 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. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: i. 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. ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients. iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work. v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers. vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/117 PART II APPENDIX G45

Education

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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 Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]