Lead Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration•San Francisco, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The employee serves as a Lead Medical Support Assistant (LMSA) under the Department Ambulatory Care at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The LMSA will serve as administrative support to assigned section/clinics within Ambulatory Care (included but not limited to Call Center, CBOC, Primary Care, Mental Health, or Specialty Care or Specialty Care Modules). The LMSA is responsible for planning and directing the MSA's activities as they relate to improved performance, patient flow, and clinic operations. LMSA will act as a mentor/educator and may lead training sessions as necessary for improved employee performance within their assigned section or to cover MSA duties from a different section. The LMSA will be the liaison between the MSA's and the designated supervisory official (or delegated authority during absence and/or vacancy of primary supervisor) within the section to help problem-solve any scheduling, administrative, or systems issues that arise. LMSA will work closely with the Supervisory MSA, Supervisory Clinical Admin Specialist, Administrative Officer, Business Manager, and with various departments outside of Ambulatory Care to troubleshoot/resolve pertinent issues and improve administrative workflow.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Must complete all required steps in the process, including application, questionnaire, and online assessment.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
Subject to background/security investigation.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement.
Must complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
Required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period.
High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
Proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-06).
Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community.
Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
Ability to provide staff development and training.
Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs.
Ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.
Must spend at least 25% or more of their time performing lead duties.
Responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit.
Responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings.
Assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
Ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments.
Providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures.
Creating and maintaining employee work schedules.
Acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.

Nice To Haves

Basic knowledge of Veteran Health Care Eligibility included but not limited to: Mission Act eligibility for Community Care services, CHAMPVA, VA Priority Groups, and Dental eligibility.
General knowledge of the role of other San Francisco VA Health Care System departments included by not limited to Medical Services, Business Services, Environmental Management, and Patient Experience.

Responsibilities

Planning and directing the MSA's activities as they relate to improved performance, patient flow, and clinic operations.
Acting as a mentor/educator and leading training sessions as necessary for improved employee performance within their assigned section or to cover MSA duties from a different section.
Serving as the liaison between the MSA's and the designated supervisory official to help problem-solve any scheduling, administrative, or systems issues that arise.
Working closely with the Supervisory MSA, Supervisory Clinical Admin Specialist, Administrative Officer, Business Manager, and with various departments outside of Ambulatory Care to troubleshoot/resolve pertinent issues and improve administrative workflow.
Scheduling, cancelling, and re-scheduling patient appointments by managing appointment requests in accordance with scheduling business rules and policies, utilizing scheduling programs as mandated by supervisor.
Coordinating the scheduling/rescheduling of consults or forwarding of consults to community care using the various scheduling systems and tools.
Contacting the Veteran to discuss VA and community care options, gathering the Veteran's scheduling preferences, and appropriately documenting all mandatory consult scheduling elements in the Consult Toolbox (CTB).
Tracking consult progress from file entry date to the scheduled date or cancellation of the consult.
Managing incoming and outgoing digital and physical faxes.
Distributing, receiving, sorting, and delivering incoming and outgoing mail or other documents to the appropriate individuals.
Responding to incoming correspondences, including Microsoft Outlook emails, Microsoft Teams Messages, Voicemails, and Secure Messaging within the timeliness parameters as designated by supervisor/department.
Managing Lobby Management, including monitoring the cleanliness of the lobby, restocking flyers and brochures, and addressing Veterans that have been waiting longer than 15 minutes.
Completing initial paperwork for walk-in "triage" patients, notifying appropriate nursing staff members, and bringing urgent matters to the immediate attention of clinical staff.
Collaborating effectively with other staff to ensure patient concerns are addressed.
Processing view alerts per VHA policy timelines.
Completing no-show reconciliation at the end of each clinic period, including the rescheduling of patients per VHA policy.
Preparing clinic materials at the beginning or end of workday, per department policy.
Electronically uploading outside test results into electronic medical record.
Maintaining up to date training on VA Scheduling Requirements.
Providing on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices and providing feedback to new employees.
Serving as the initial point of contact for patients, determining the patient's needs.
Facilitating resolution, within their scope, or directing patient to the appropriate area of need.
Troubleshooting/reconciling open encounters, providing higher level consult review, overbooking, entering leaf requests, clinic profile management, monitoring individual ICB configuration, service level recovery, filing, collating materials, ordering supplies, providing patient information.
Providing training to employees within various sections within their department.
Performing timekeeping duties as assigned.
Providing backup MSA coverage as needed.
Performing other duties as assigned.