Job opening: Advanced Medical Support Assistant
Salary: $50 379 - 65 494 per year
Published at: Sep 24 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
The Dayton, Ohio Veterans Affairs Medical Center is recruiting for a well-qualified Advanced Medical Support Assistant in the Primary Care Service. The primary function of this position is providing administrative and clerical duties in support of patient care including the implementation and sustainment of the Veterans Health Administration Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Initiative. This position is located in Middletown, Ohio.
Duties
Duties include, but are not limited to:
providing outstanding customer service
paying attention to details of the customer's needs and helps the customer arrive at a satisfactory solution in a timely manner
responding to inquiries from Veterans, Medical Center staff and other agencies regarding Veteran's entitlement to care
scheduling appointments in computer systems in the appropriate physician/specialty clinics
informing our customers (orally or in writing) or be able to direct inquiries regarding services
answering, screening, and prioritizing telephone calls in courteous and professional manner, serving as a point of contact for patients, medical center staff and other community agencies
communicating both orally and in writing with people of various backgrounds
managing appointments accurately and coordinating administrative information between professional staff
providing clear, understandable and correct information to internal and external customers
providing and accepting communication regarding patient concerns
completing requests to non-VA medical offices/facilities to secure patient treatment documents
handling all Release of Information (ROI) requests in ROI plus system
developing and managing system for tracking needed follow up care, and communicating with patient and team
participating in huddles led by team providers or nurse and other team meetings
using considerable independent judgment and critical thinking skills
orienting medical staff to basic administrative policies and procedures dealing with outpatient scheduling and other topics
performing check-in and check-out of primary care patients
notifying clinic staff of patient's arrival/check-in and walk-ins and urgent care appointments
developing working knowledge of policies, regulations and procedures regarding Veterans healthcare programs, patient eligibility, and primary care processes
provide instructions to other employees and Veterans
serving as patient advocate and facilitating Service Recovery process which includes identifying process improvement opportunities and making adjustments as needed
managing position responsibilities independently and meeting deadlines; setting priorities and deadlines in line with team goals, adjusting the flow and sequencing to meet team and patient needs; demonstrating technical system competency, validating the accuracy of enrolled patient database with each encounter, including patient demographics, health insurance information, income assessments
scheduling medical appointments for patients; assuring timely appointment cancellations by both the clinic and patient are recorded; entering no-show information; informing patients of all scheduled appointments; updating and verifying demographic information, collecting and updating insurance information; administratively managing consultation requests
completing follow-up calls to Veterans; documenting contacts
sending, receiving and\or processing sensitive information and reports
providing timely and accurate release of medical information for incidental releases and ensuring full compliance with Privacy Act of 1974, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Privacy Rule, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), entering requests for, or directing requests for complete copies of medical records
printing and using electronic files containing sensitive data; protecting data from unauthorized release or from loss, alteration or unauthorized deletion, and following applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files, release of access codes, etc.; performing proper disposition of documents
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1630
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
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.).
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.
Certification.
None required.
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.
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.
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.
Grade Determinations:
In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:
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.
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-6
Experience.
One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.
Assignment.
The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization). Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists team to reinforce plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre- appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
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 due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.
Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary. There will be some periods of walking, bending, lifting or carrying of work-related items. Normal safety precautions and practices are required of working in a healthcare environment. This position requires emotional ability to deal effectively with multi-tasking and high volume of patient flow and competing demands.
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 Dayton VA Medical Center
4100 West Third Street
Dayton, OH 45428
US
- Name: Sage Artemis
- Email: [email protected]
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