Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration • Tuscaloosa, AL

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves as a Consult Coordinator for Non-VA Care and works collaboratively with interdisciplinary health care teams, including PACT, specialty care, and Non-VA Care providers, pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, and behavioral health staff. The role supports coordinated care delivery across PACT, specialty clinics, C&P, and Non-VA Care.

The MSA performs receptionist and customer-service duties, maintains appointment schedules for Non-VA Care, coordinates care between customers and providers, and communicates with external providers to confirm they accept VA patients and payments. The MSA prepares required pre-appointment documents, schedules the appropriate level of care, and documents scheduling in the appropriate consult. The role also obtains medical documentation from Non-VA providers, scans it to the appropriate consult in CPRS, and alerts VA providers to support continuity of care.

The MSA supports patient safety by verifying identity using two forms of identification and uses interactions with patients to validate and update demographic information. The stated schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., subject to change based on agency needs. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. The position is in the Excepted Service and has a one- or two-year trial period.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception when recruitment of qualified citizens is not possible under 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state or territorial education-board proficiency certificate; the education section also lists post-high-school education as an eligible education level.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• For GS-06: one year of experience equivalent to GS-05 in Federal service, including independently performing a full range of healthcare service delivery duties in an inpatient or outpatient setting and advising clinical staff on administrative processes.
• Advanced knowledge of healthcare processes, including scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated-care and/or community-care models and patient healthcare portals as they relate to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures affecting patient flow and administrative support functions, such as appointment cycles, outside referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, and provider availability.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to support team goals and ensure care needs are met.
• 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, verbally and in writing, with internal and external customers.
• Must complete the required application steps and online assessment.
• Subject to background and security investigation and required online onboarding.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Consult Management, VA Scheduling, Appointment Management, Community Care, Health Share Referral Management (HSRM), RefDoc, External Provider Scheduling (EPS), MyHealtheVet, and scanning medical records.

Responsibilities

• Perform receptionist duties and provide customer service in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.
• Maintain appointment schedules for Non-VA Care.
• Communicate with Non-VA Care providers to confirm they accept VA patients and payments.
• Prepare required pre-appointment documents, schedule the appropriate level of care, and document scheduling in the appropriate consult.
• Obtain medical documentation from Non-VA providers, scan it to the appropriate consult within CPRS, and alert VA providers for continuity of care.
• Coordinate internal and external care between customers and providers.
• Verify patient identity using two forms of identification, including name and full Social Security Number; the patient may also present a VHIC.
• Validate and update patient demographic information during in-person check-in or telephone interactions.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and consults; enter no-show information; and monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participate in huddles with MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine clinic needs and monitor inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Verify and update demographics and insurance information when patients check in.
• Coordinate administrative functions for emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals.
• Determine appointment type based on patient eligibility status.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package; eligibility depends on position type and other factors.
• Selected applicants may qualify for approved service credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service.

What This Job Offers

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