The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) serves within the Care in the Community (CITC) service line at the Fort Meade or Hot Springs VA Medical Center. The AMSA performs clerical and administrative support in the coordination, care, and treatment provided to veterans through the CITC referral processing procedures within the VA Black Hills Health Care System.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: Provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model Works closely with clinical personnel to ensure veterans receive timely referred and scheduled care in their local community. This work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across all disciplines and specialties through community care. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates veteran appointments through community vendors utilizing guidance and direction from the veteran's care team to ensure appointments are scheduled accurately, efficiently and within the clinical needs requested by the provider. Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the veteran, veteran representatives, interdisciplinary care teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g. coordinating community care appointments and additional requests for care with non-va medical facilities, administratively triaging phone calls related to community care requests, assisting other VA teams in understanding community care eligibilities in regards to the Mission Act of 2018, assisting CITC RN in care coordination of referrals, following up with community vendors to ensure appointment completion and obtaining of medical records). Ensures the integrity of various databases, and data used in the management of administrative and customer service within the department. Understands and independently and appropriately utilizes the administrative support packages such as FBCS, CPRS, VISTA, VSE, REFDOCS, HSRM, PPMS, Consult Tracking Manager, Message Manager, Scheduling Manager and all other administrative packages required to perform the functions of the role in community care. Responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with Community Care processes guidelines and directives. Independently recognizes the urgency of the consults and schedules care in accordance. Accurately schedules the full spectrum of medical care including but is not limited to outpatient appointments, outpatient procedures, inpatient surgery, home care, lab tests and imaging throughout all specialties. Communicate to the veteran any pre-appointment requirements or instructions. Clearly communicates appointment care details to the veteran or point of contact for veteran. Communicates to the PACT Provider or Nurse if instructions are of nature that clinical review is required to determine appropriateness for the veteran. Identify and communicate veteran concerns or needs recognized during communications regarding upcoming Community Care. Utilizes consult status to support accurate record of the status of the consult as it moves through the process from approval for Community Care to the point that correct results are attached to the consult. Independently collaborates, communicates, set priorities and organize the work to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes, policies and regulations. Communicates effectively, efficiently and appropriately with other administrative staff, RNs and leadership in CITC to ensure accurate and timely processing of consults and incoming workload. Provides follow up calls to veterans when it is identified that an appointment was not attended. Assists veterans in rescheduling appointments in cases of missed or no-show appointments. Recognizes the importance of scheduling care in the correct sequence and timing when multiple Community Care appointments are necessary. Assists Veterans with interacting with Choice Contractor, as appropriate. Effectively coordinates this care when multiple vendors or agencies are involved. Educates providers about shared patients who have care in the community. Correctly links Community Care appointments with the scheduling package to ensure information is available for others scheduling care in the future thus avoiding conflicts or double scheduling appointments within and outside the VA within similar timeframe. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Authorized, per Supervisor's discretion 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 **This occupational series is eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), and participation is available for highly qualified candidates. Participants must sign a service agreement and maintain an acceptable level of performance to remain eligible for this program.**

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). b. Experience and Education. (1) 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 (2) Education. One year above high school; OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. c. Certification. None required. d. Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.(2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. e. 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. f. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. g. 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. GS-06 Advanced Medical Support Assistant: This GS-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant position is above the full performance level for this job series and requires experience beyond the basic requirement for positions in this occupation. EXPERIENCE: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level that equips the candidate with the following: 1. 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. 2. Schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting. 3. Work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work. 4. Communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers. 5. Customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution. AND Candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills and abilities below: 1. 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. 2. Ability to independently set priorities and organizes work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies and regulations. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. References: See VA Handbook 5005/53, Part II, Appendix G, page II-G45-4 & II-G45-5 Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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 VA Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Megan Noe
• Phone: (724) 285-2259
• Email: [email protected]