The position of Advanced Medical Support Assistant is located within the Medical Foster Home (MFH) Program and Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program within the Chief of Staff Service. HPBC provides interdisciplinary primary care services to eligible Veterans in the home, in conjunction with family, community, and VA Medical Center support in an effort to maximize the patient's well-being and maintain the patient in the most independent setting possible.

Duties

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant acts as liaison between patients and medical center staff, serving as consumer advocate. The incumbent accepts telephone calls from patients/caregivers, HBPC staff, MFH staff in the field, other VA staff, and/or community agency staff, regarding program inquiries, patient care concerns, etc. He/she obtains as much information as possible, provides information and resolves problems independently when possible, prioritizes, and makes decisions regarding caller referral based on specific caller needs. The incumbent ensures timely clinical response to patients/callers that potentially have an emergent or urgent care need through prompt identification of the problem and appropriate clinical referral. Interacts with customers, family members, visitors and co-workers in a courteous, tactful, helpful manner, exercising professional judgment and diplomacy. Composes correspondence as indicated to assist with clinical functions of MFH staff. Composes reports and meeting minutes as directed by MFH Program Coordinator. Uses computer programs to type all recurring correspondence, minutes, and reports, maintaining computer files easily accessible by other team members. Corrects errors in team data entries of workload (telephone and visit) encounters. He/she schedules the patient in the program. Obtains hard copy patient records from VA Health Information Management Section, or from the private sector as requested by home care staff. Prints assessments and treatment plans for MFH team treatment planning meetings as needed. Assists staff in obtaining laboratory, radiology, CT scans and other reports from VISTA/CPRS. The Medical Support Assistant keeps up-to-date with regulation that concerns eligibility for care, control of medical records, availability of and requesting special tests and procedures. Runs errands in support of team function as requested by home care clinical staff. Errands may include, but are not limited to, obtaining signed prescriptions from covering physicians, delivering prescriptions to covering pharmacists, and picking up stock items from SPD. The incumbent coordinates consultation, referrals, scheduling and cancelling of appointments for patients requiring specialty services and diagnostic procedures within the VA Medical Center. Coordinates outpatient scheduling and cancelling of all appointments for designated Physician, mid-level provider, and other staff as requested by team members. He/she completes necessary disposition entries into VISTA daily for scheduled and unscheduled outpatient visits. Problem solves office equipment malfunctions, obtaining IRM, Engineering, copier/fax technician, or Facilities Management support as indicated. Compiles end-of-month MFH AMIS report data and corrects as needed before transmitting to Austin, including assuring all MFH patient admissions/discharges have been entered and no encounter errors are outstanding. Interacts with MFH team members to correct data as indicated. Coordinates reassignment of just-discharged MFH patients to a primary care provider to assure they continue to receive care. Provides clerical support to MFH Program Coordinator in carrying out administrative duties. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Available 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

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: 1. Experience. 12 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 Certification: None required. 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. 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 Grade Level: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-5] grade level. Experience is defined as experience that includes, but is not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring the electronic wait list; preparing for clinic visits; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility; ensuring encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals; performing basic eligibility, co-pays and pre-authorization requirements for specific coverage (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, etc.). Candidates must also be able to demonstrate the following Knowledge, skills, and abilities for the GS-0679-6 level to qualify for this position: 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 and abbreviations Preferred Experience: Computer and Customer service skills Word and Excel experience References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45 Dated: August 1, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS 06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS 06. Physical Requirements: VA Directive and Handbook 5019.Work is partially sedentary, with frequent walking, standing, bending. carrying of light items such as papers and books, or small parts. Some slight physical effort may be required. Incumbent may be susceptible to eyestrain from working long hours on the computer.

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 Louis A Johnson VA Medical Center 1 Medical Center Drive Clarksburg, WV 26301 US
• Name: Jennifer Donnellan
• Phone: 304-623-3461 X3097
• Email: [email protected]