Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration•Hines, IL

11d•Onsite

About The Position

This position provides administrative support services to Veterans residing in the Primary Service Area of the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, a 1A complex facility. The Medical Support Assistant works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model or other specialty care setting where a specialty care team model is used. The work may support ancillary services, centralized call center operations, Care in the Community, consult management, direct scheduling, Patient Aligned Care Teams, and specialty clinics. The role uses patient systems and electronic tools to support daily unit operations and patient care. Other directly related duties may be assigned. The position is full-time, Monday through Friday, with a schedule between 6:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Weekend work may be required, and the tour of duty may vary according to service needs. Telework is not suitable, and the position is not virtual. The work is primarily sedentary in a typical office setting, with possible walking, standing, twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying light items. Some positions may require extended sitting at a computer terminal while typing and speaking on a telephone headset.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship.
Proficiency in spoken and written English.
High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state or territorial proficiency certificate.
For GS-4: one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, or one year of education above high school; and knowledge of basic medical terminology, skill recording patient messages and understanding physician follow-up requests, ability to interact courteously with people from varied backgrounds and health care team members, and ability to use office automation equipment and software.
For GS-5: one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade, or two years of education above high school; and advanced medical terminology knowledge, customer-service skills, ability to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient-identifying information in computerized systems, ability to schedule medical appointments, ability to work independently on varied patient-support duties, and effective professional communication in person, electronically, or by telephone.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
May be required to serve a trial period and undergo a background/security investigation.
Must complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel.
Submit an education transcript when relying on education to meet qualification requirements; qualifying education must be from an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative support services to Veterans residing in the hospital’s Primary Service Area.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary care teams and specialty care teams to support coordinated patient care.
Support ancillary services and specialty clinics, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, social work, and other patient-care support services.
Support centralized call center functions, including determining callers’ needs, scheduling, processing refill requests, reviewing patient records, and routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff.
Coordinate patient services through Care in the Community for Veterans receiving care outside the VA Healthcare System.
Review and schedule patient consult appointments; identify consult status issues, take appropriate corrective action, or refer issues to a lead or supervisor.
Schedule routine appointments that do not require a consult referral.
Support Patient Aligned Care Teams and coordination across primary care, mental health, specialty care, call center, and community care services.
Use patient systems and electronic tools to support daily unit operations and patient care.
Perform other directly related duties as assigned.