Lead Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Seattle, WA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Puget Sound VA Medical Center is hiring a Lead Medical Support Assistant to provide centralized administrative support and office automation expertise for veterans and health care personnel within the Hospital Specialty Medicine Service (HSM). The role provides advanced clinical operational support, coordinates appointment and consult workflows, and assigns and monitors work performed by Advanced Medical Support Assistants (AMSAs). The Lead Medical Support Assistant works with patients, families, and interdisciplinary HSM teams to support access to care across clinics.

The position also supports clinic operations through scheduling and clinic-grid adjustments; monitoring encounters and Insurance Card Buffer completion; maintaining administrative and clinic records; ensuring outside medical records are scanned and uploaded to the electronic health record; and overseeing receptionist and general administrative support functions. The full performance level is GS-07. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework and virtual work are not available.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception under VA policy for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• High school diploma or equivalent; acceptable verification includes a high school diploma or transcript, GED certificate, homeschooling completion, state or territorial proficiency certificate, or official college transcript.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community settings.
• Skill communicating with individuals to achieve desired outcomes and coordinating with interdisciplinary care-team staff.
• Ability to use numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks and responsibilities to meet deadlines.
• Ability to provide staff development and training.
• Ability to manage staffing requirements, workflow priorities, and work flow to meet team and patient needs, follow up on pending issues, and understand the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.
• Must meet applicable pre-employment requirements, including a background/security investigation and physical evaluation, and participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must complete application requirements and an online onboarding process; a 1- or 2-year trial period is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced clinical operational support and assign workload to Advanced Medical Support Assistants.
• Serve as a point of contact for patients, families, and interdisciplinary HSM teams requesting appointments.
• Review patient information and clinic schedules to check availability, confirm appointments, and reschedule appointments using the EHR.
• Track, ensure, and verify completion of encounters and Insurance Card Buffer (ICB).
• Assign consult and return-to-clinic (RTC) order workload to Advanced Medical Support Assistants.
• Ensure Advanced Medical Support Assistants use appropriate scheduling programs and enter correct comments and clinic information.
• Respond to requests for readily available information, including report status and suspense dates for compliance matters.
• Provide primary administrative support to assigned sections and monitor clinic setup, making necessary clinic-grid adjustments to support clinic needs.
• Maintain centralized files for administrative and internal clinic documents and records, including correspondence, directives, technical directives, and patient-privileged information.
• Ensure documents are available, properly indexed, sorted, and filed, and obtain additional material when needed.
• Ensure Advanced Medical Support Assistants scan and upload outside medical records or coordinate with Medical Records to upload them to the EHR.
• Oversee Advanced Medical Support Assistants serving as receptionists, including greeting and screening patients and determining required actions.
• Provide general administrative support.
• Provide staff development and training and manage staffing requirements, workflow priorities, and work assignments to meet deadlines and team and patient needs.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a child care subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to family income and other eligibility limits.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and a federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED