Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Whole Health

Veterans Health Administration • North Little Rock, AR

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) works in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System’s Patient Centered Care / Whole Health service in North Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of an interprofessional healthcare team. The role provides specialized administrative patient support in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model, including receptionist and customer-service duties and maintaining appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.

The AMSA uses advanced clinic access principles and patient systems to coordinate appointments and patient flow across clinics. The position is full-time, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the schedule may change based on facility needs. Telework and virtual work are not available. The work is performed in an office/clinic setting and requires handling multiple tasks, sometimes in stressful situations.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state/territorial education-board proficiency certificate.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level for the GS-06 Advanced Medical Support Assistant position.
• Advanced knowledge of technical healthcare processes related to access to care, including scheduling across interdisciplinary care models and/or care in the community and patient healthcare portals.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures affecting patient flow and administrative patient-support functions, including appointment cycles, outside referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, and provider availability.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to meet team goals and patient-care needs.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines and comply with processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively with internal and external customers electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing; this may include preparing reports, presenting data, and resolving patient concerns.
• Complete the required application steps and online assessment.
• Pass a background/security investigation and pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program and meet applicable identification and onboarding requirements.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• The resume must include hours worked per week for work experience credit.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and coordinate appointments using advanced clinic access principles.
• Collect and update demographic and insurance information, manage the electronic waiting list, process patients, and provide customer service.
• Screen and receive phone calls courteously and promptly, determine the nature of requests, and provide information in accordance with privacy rules and clinic processes.
• Participate in daily tier-one huddles and monthly team meetings concerning patient-care planning and management, except when covering during staff shortages.
• Review active and pending consults, the Electronic Wait List, recall lists, and Audiocare communications daily for accuracy and disposition.
• Coordinate administrative services for veterans, family members, caregivers, the public, and administrative and clinical staff to support continuity of inpatient and outpatient care.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with clinical and administrative staff to determine priorities supporting direct patient care.
• Interpret and apply laws, regulations, directives, and policies concerning administration of VA healthcare benefits.
• Conduct audits, studies, or surveys to support procedure development, complete and appropriate data collection, reporting, and revenue generation.
• Organize and implement quality-assurance monitors and prepare administrative reports and documents for the supervisor and Health Administration Service.
• Assist with processing Veterans travel payment vouchers for the Beneficiary Travel Program and Health Benefits Unit.
• Coordinate with the patient-care team to review clinic appointment availability and make schedule adjustments as needed.
• Maintain communication with patients, interdisciplinary care teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies, including supporting discharge communications, communicating with non-VA facilities, preparing correspondence about normal lab results, and managing follow-up care.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package for employees and their families; specific eligibility depends on position type and the hiring agency should be contacted for details.
• Selected applicants may request consideration of prior work or military service for annual-leave accrual credit; approval is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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