The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position serves as an Inpatient Ward/outpatient clinic clerk and has a foundational role within the Louis A. Johnson VAMC within the Health Administration Service. The Advanced MSA provides administrative support to (but is not limited to) Physicians, Physician's Assistants, Nurses, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners, Dietitians, Social Workers, and other administrative and professional staff throughout the facility.

Duties

The Advanced MSA performs duties as assigned for the proper and timely treatment of Veterans in an administrative role only. Advanced MSA's must not give clinical advice to Veterans or their family members. S/he maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics. S/he must assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment time(s), location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers per VHA policy. This position provides medical administrative support to outpatient clinics (including Community Based Outpatient Clinics -CBOC's); inpatient wards and is an integral member of those teams. Additionally, duties may include (but are not limited to - Incumbent must screen/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request, and provide the information desired in accordance with VHA privacy regulations and established release of information processes. - The incumbent is responsible for accurate appointment management and the coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and the Veteran. This includes checking-in Veterans for appointments, updating, and verifying demographic information, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, obtaining insurance information upon every visit. S/he refers Veterans to the eligibility/enrollment office when means testing is required. - S/he independently handles scheduling problems and deviations based on obtained knowledge of clinic/ward operations and policy, schedules, and provider preferences. - S/he explains the VA's mandate to collect third party insurance information to Veterans, their families, and all eligible patients. S/he scans and updates health insurance information upon every visit. - Utilizing the Recall reminder software, s/he must maintain appointment recall data accurately and consistently. - Incumbent properly documents if Veteran is deemed ineligible for services and forwards the information to the appropriate staff. - Manages the Electronic Wait-List in accordance to VHA policy. - lncumbent (s) working on inpatient wards are responsible for processing, verifying, extracting Provider orders from CPRS; as well as clearing unverified orders daily and filing appropriate forms. - S/he must coordinate efforts to ensure all aspects of duties are accomplished with efficiency and of high quality, and must report all backlogs immediately to their supervisor. - Assures that duties associated to the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) are done accurately and timely. Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30am-4pm or 8am-4:30pm. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 240-22033-F 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: Medical scheduling experience. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing. Knowledge of Medical Technology and abbreviations. References: A Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45 Dated: August 1, 2019 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: 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Louis A Johnson VA Medical Center 1 Medical Center Drive Clarksburg, WV 26301 US
• Name: Gretchen Bruning
• Phone: 410-691-6340 X47784
• Email: [email protected]