Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Mental Health

Veterans Health Administration•Fargo, ND

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) is based in the Mental Health department at the Fargo VA Medical Center. The role provides specialized administrative patient support in collaboration with an interdisciplinary coordinated care team. The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. The Medical Support Assistant provides patient-facing assistance, scheduling and clinic administration, records and workload monitoring, and coordination with clinicians and external healthcare providers. The incumbent also supports clinic access and quality assurance activities, maintains supplies and equipment, and may provide scheduling coverage during intermittent staffing shortages.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated statutory exception for recruiting qualified citizens.
Proficiency in spoken and written English.
For the basic requirements, either no experience or a high school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state/territorial proficiency certificate is required.
For the GS-5 grade, one year of experience equivalent to GS-5 is required, with advanced medical terminology knowledge; customer-service skills; ability to use computerized systems to handle sensitive medical and identifying information; appointment-scheduling ability; independence in patient-support duties; and effective, professional communication skills.
For the GS-6 grade, candidates must demonstrate advanced knowledge of healthcare processes and access to care, related policies and procedures, and medical terminology; ability to collaborate across clinical disciplines; ability to independently prioritize and organize work to meet deadlines and comply with policies; and tactful, effective communication, reporting, data presentation, and patient-concern resolution skills.
Subject to background and security investigation and required pre-employment onboarding and evaluation.
Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
Must complete the required application steps and online assessment.
A one- or two-year trial period is required.

Responsibilities

Greet and check in patients, assist with mobile check-in when needed, gather medical information as needed, and direct patients to appropriate members of the healthcare team.
Identify and resolve customer concerns, document complaints, report backlogs and scheduling difficulties, and follow up to help ensure satisfactory resolution.
Perform receptionist duties, including monitoring copying and faxing and answering and routing incoming calls.
Maintain medical charts and generate patient workload reports; serve as a technical advisor and liaison for systems such as VISTA, CPRS, VSE, and IPPS.
Respond to secure messages and appointment requests through VAOS, and follow VA scheduling directives and minimum scheduling efforts.
Review recall reminder lists, prepare for clinics, monitor patient demographics and ICB, ensure encounter forms and return-to-clinic orders are completed, and complete recalls and consult cleanup daily.
Review active and pending consults, interpret and disposition provider orders, monitor appointments and electronic wait lists, and maintain clinic grids with supervision.
Complete reports and meeting minutes, provide scribe support with a co-signer, process transfers to other facilities, and perform basic eligibility requirements.
Assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, locations, or dates.
Complete, train, and share knowledge of data programs, including VETEXT, VAOS, NEAR, Message Manager, Secure Messaging, Right Fax, and Audiocare.
Request medical records from Community Care providers and non-VA healthcare institutions; conduct audits, studies, or surveys; and collect data for reporting.
Organize and implement quality assurance documents for the supervisor, enter and monitor work orders, and order supplies and equipment.
Maintain warehouse supplies and clinic forms and provide scheduling staff coverage during intermittent shortages.