Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Indianapolis, IN

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis is seeking Medical Support Assistants through an open continuous announcement. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, and qualified applicants may be considered as vacancies become available and referred to multiple departments.

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) provides technical and clerical support that facilitates the work of clinicians and other direct-care staff. As a key member of the patient care team and a source of information about patient care and flow, the MSA provides administrative guidance and supports patient care and treatment. Assignments may be in a Call Center, Urgent Care, or, infrequently, an interdisciplinary primary care or specialty clinic.

The MSA performs scheduling duties under the National Scheduling Directive and uses personal computer applications, Vista applications, and the Federal Electronic Health Record. The role includes handling calls, arranging appointments and referrals, following through on provider orders, reviewing consults, assisting veterans with beneficiary travel requests, and maintaining confidential patient information in accordance with HIPAA requirements.

The work is mostly sedentary and requires sustained concentration. The position is on site rather than virtual, with no telework or compressed/flexible schedule available. Work schedules are Monday through Friday, with one of the listed shifts: 7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m., 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated VA policy exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• High school diploma or transcript, GED certificate, state or territorial proficiency certificate, or post-high-school education; qualifying current VHA employees may be covered by the grandfathering provision.
• For GS-05, one year of creditable experience equivalent to GS-04, or two years of education above high school, in addition to the basic requirements.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology sufficient to understand diagnoses and procedures and communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Customer service skills, including identifying customer concerns and referring them to appropriate staff for resolution.
• Ability to operate computerized programs and systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient-identifying information in electronic health records, scheduling systems, and reports.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently on a wide variety of patient-support duties.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and by telephone with internal and external customers.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must meet Selective Service registration requirements.
• Must be able to complete background/security investigation, online onboarding, and required pre-employment identification and application-document requirements.
• Participation in the VA seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for health care personnel.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the agency’s written certification of continued employment.
• The resume must document qualifying specialized-experience dates in mm/yyyy format and identify full-time or part-time status and hours per week when part-time; any government position’s grade level must also be listed.
• The work may involve sustained sitting and concentration, as well as some walking, standing, bending, carrying light objects, stooping, reaching, lifting, pulling, and other moderate exertion.

Responsibilities

• Perform technical and clerical support duties for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nursing assistants, and other medical facility staff.
• Serve as a source of patient-care and patient-flow information and provide administrative advice and guidance to the patient care team.
• Screen and receive telephone calls courteously and promptly, determine the nature of requests, and provide information in accordance with privacy rules and clinic processes.
• Follow through on providers’ orders, including scheduling referrals, laboratory work, x-rays, and specialty clinic appointments.
• Schedule appointments with patient input, in person or by phone, coordinating appointments to avoid unnecessary multiple trips when possible.
• Notify a supervisor when clinic access is inadequate or a patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes.
• Review active and pending consults daily.
• Assist veterans with creating beneficiary travel requests using paper forms.
• Communicate and interact with people from varied backgrounds and health care team members to complete assignments.
• Use office automation equipment and software to organize and maintain record systems and schedule appointments in clinical programs and databases.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA requirements.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Selected applicants may qualify for additional annual-leave accrual credit based on prior work or military service, subject to request and approval.
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster-care placement.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify after 60 days for a child-care subsidy of up to 25% of eligible costs, subject to income, child-eligibility, and monthly-limit conditions.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) contributions of up to 5%.
• 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