Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration • Lexington, KY

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant serves as a Consult Coordinator and is a foundational role within the continuum of patient care. The position works collaboratively with expanded health care teams, including PACT, specialty care, Community Care providers, pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, and behavioral health staff, to support an interdisciplinary approach to care. The role coordinates outpatient and inpatient community care and complex diagnostic procedures, obtains clinical documentation and direction, and supports follow-up care and continued treatment. The work is performed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework and virtual work are not available. The full performance level and selection grade are GS-06.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated exception for appointment of non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state- or territorial-level proficiency certificate.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, including relevant patient scheduling, consult coordination, appointment monitoring, patient check-in, or transfer coordination experience.
• Advanced knowledge of technical health care processes related to access to care, including interdisciplinary coordinated care and care-in-the-community models and patient health care portals.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures for interdisciplinary coordinated care or care-in-the-community operations that affect patient flow and administrative 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 accomplish team goals and meet patient care needs.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines while complying with established 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.
• Experience must be fully documented on the resume with job title, duties, start and end dates by month and year, and hours worked per week.
• Must complete the application and required questionnaire, online assessment, and other application requirements.
• Must meet background/security investigation requirements and complete the online onboarding process and acceptable identification requirements.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a Department of Veterans Affairs health care personnel employee.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• Physical ability to operate a computer terminal and manage multiple activities; work is generally sedentary, with some walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items.
• No licensure or certification is required.
• Education cannot substitute for experience at this grade level.

Nice To Haves

• Good customer service skills.
• Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize duties.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with VA clinicians, third-party administrators, and community clinicians to obtain clinical documentation and direction for coordinating, planning, organizing, and directing outpatient and inpatient community care and complex diagnostic procedures.
• Coordinate follow-up care as directed by community clinicians, vendors, third-party administrators, and VA clinicians, including providing evaluation and diagnostic reports to VA clinicians for continuation of care and verification of authorized care.
• Contact clinicians, hospitals, pharmacies, Veterans, and accredited representatives to obtain supporting information for care authorization, including CPT codes, vendor information, additional clinical information, and clinical requirements.
• Research problem cases and rejected payments, using ingenuity and foresight to resolve them.
• Review and monitor data to ensure reports are complete and accurate.
• Independently organize work and handle scheduling problems and deviations based on knowledge of clinic operations and policy, schedules, and provider preferences.
• Operate a computer terminal and manage multiple activities simultaneously.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and consults; enter no-show information; monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; and monitor inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Participate in huddles with medical support assistants and clinic staff to determine daily clinic needs.
• Verify and update patient demographics and insurance information at appointment check-in.
• Coordinate administrative functions for emergency and non-emergency transfers to other clinical or medical facilities or private hospitals, and determine appointment type based on patient eligibility status.
• Communicate with internal and external customers, resolve patient concerns, prepare reports in various formats, and present data to organizational levels as needed.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, consisting of 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• 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 childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to family income and other eligibility conditions.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and a federal 401(k) with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• 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