Medical Support Assistant

Summary

**The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.** Performs duties related to the receipt, intake and indexing of health and administrative information. MSA's will interface with personal computer applications as well as numerous Vista applications. The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Duties

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This is an open continuous announcement until September 30, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. This announcement may close without advanced notice. Incumbent is responsible for providing advisory and technical assistance to Veterans and beneficiaries who come to the medical center seeking medical care, experiencing problems or requesting information. The incumbent is also responsible for coordinating all administrative activity in the immediate area and to provide support and assistance to the professional staff. The duties of a Medical Support Assistant may include, but are not limited to: First line customer service representative. Greet and provide guidance to stakeholder at the outpatient clinics and hospital. Medical Support Assistant is responsible for the processing of hospital admissions, clinic appointments, registration of patients entering workload data and validation. Assists with managing consults, recall reminders, view alerts, mod sheets and encounters for assigned specialty clinics. Performs duties to capture increase through Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB), Patient Check-IN (PCI), Consult Toolbox, Consult Tracking Manager (CTM+), My HealtheVet (in-person authentication/secure messaging), patient updates and demographic changes. Ensure all consults are resolved within seven days and encounters are resolved daily. Each section will be responsible for providing guidance on scheduling within their section. On a weekly basis, summarizes the most frequent problems within the immediate area. Assists both the Veteran and appropriate professional staff in coordinating scheduled procedures and return appointments. Schedules appointments and provides information regarding unit, clinic and hospital policies, procedures and locations to patients, family members, staff, etc., or refers to other resources for difficult questions or concerns. Maintains and monitors patient appointment schedules for the unit/clinic and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients. Monitor both clinic and operating room utilization. Make necessary adjustments to support the needs of the clinic. Schedule, cancel and reschedule a great variety of exams and procedures. Facilitate the scheduling of procedures and testing performed by other services. Contact next day appointments and no-shows. Oversee the daily processing of patients for inpatient and outpatient appointment and procedures. Review audio reminder cancellation and reschedule reports. Provide a detailed daily report to the Medical Administration Service leadership to include missed opportunities, consults, encounters, unsigned notes and orders and any other clinic issues that arise. Perform administrative follow-up actions Participate in team meetings to manage and plan patient care. Independently share information and collaborate with the medical team to assure continuity of care. Set priorities and deadlines. Estimate and report on expected milestones for completion of tasks. Communicate team success in performance goals and report progress to the supervisor. Monitor the status on progress of work and make adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Obtain assistance from their supervisors as needed for major issues or problems that arise. Safeguard sensitive information against unauthorized disclosures Work Schedule: Full time; to include nights, weekends and overnight shifts. Work schedule will be determined upon selection. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of 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: Not available. Virtual: This is not virtual position. Functional Statement #: 56025A / 56026A / 56027A

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: None Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.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). Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the placement effective February 5, 2026 of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: 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. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements Grade Determinations: In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of the candidates: Medical Support Assistant, GS-3 Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Medical Support Assistant, GS-4 Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (Applying general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients; utilize a va