Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position is organizationally aligned under the Patient Administrative Support Service within the Business Administration Service. The position is expected to work closely with all members of the health care team and will receive program direction and guidance from the team's leadership (i.e., MSA Supervisor, section chief, service chief, etc.).

Duties

Duties include receiving patients on the unit, initiating the admitting process, routing patients to their destinations, providing telephone assistance, triaging telephone calls, gathering demographics, and scheduling appointments. The AMSA is cross-trained to provide coverage for other clinics within the health care system as staffing needs dictate. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and team support in a wide variety of basic administrative functions within a patient-aligned care team (PACT), primary care clinic, specialty clinic, or outbound clinical support (OCS) / patient scheduling unit. The AMSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. The incumbent is considered the team clinic/area authority on a variety of processes, regulations, policies, and procedures regarding eligibility and benefits, clinic support, statistical and data collection, medical record management, and customer service. The incumbent must interpret and implement regulations accurately to reflect current operating procedures. The role is complex and requires flexibility and independent decision-making. Scheduling Duties: The incumbent schedules outpatient clinic appointments using the Integrated Scheduling Solution (ISS). The incumbent follows nationally established business rules to schedule appointments for Veterans. This includes clinic visits, consultations, and entries into the Electronic Wait List (EWL) and Veterans Choice List (VCL). The incumbent completes the mandatory national and local training requirements for the outpatient scheduling process. The incumbent is required to complete the 2-week VHA Scheduler Training for Internal Schedulers (VHA-1 52) curriculum and receive a passing score on all required TMS post-tests and a passing score of 75% or higher on the scheduling Hands-On demonstration and competencies. Outbound Clinical Support/Call Center Duties (if applicable): AMSAs assigned to the outbound clinical support (OCS)/call center provide information and resolution to Veterans' requests within scope, use administrative judgment to escalate symptomatic concerns to clinical staff or direct the contact to the appropriate discipline for resolution; screen incoming contacts and independently route the contacts to the appropriate area for resolution; utilize various software, hardware system products, and data portals to transfer and capture information electronically for the support of the daily operation of the unit; and operate within the various contact modalities to receive and respond to incoming and outgoing contacts using computerized interfaces and telecommunications hardware and software. Data Collection: Incumbent will participate in data collection efforts put forth by this health care system. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Process all encounter forms and audit for accuracy of diagnostic codes and outpatient procedure codes. Work closely with providers and bring to their attention errors or discrepancies. Generate a daily appointment management report and clear any actions required or errors in data entry. Daily capture patient private insurance information in the ICB system. Medical Record Management: In the performance of official duties, the incumbent has regular access to printed and electronic files containing sensitive data which must be protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, and other applicable laws, Federal regulations, Department of Veterans Affairs statutes and policies, and VHA policies. Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: M-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm or as determined by the supervisor. Compressed/Flexible: This may be authorized at the supervisor's discretion. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 09262-F

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience: None. Education: High school diploma; General Education Development equivalency certificate or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. Licensure/Certification /Registration: None Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service, for requirements. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38U.S.C.§7403(f). 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified. Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06: Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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. 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. Assignment: For all assignments above the FPLs, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time At the advanced levels, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdiscip