Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Muskogee, OK

8d • Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) provides customer service and administrative support to Veterans, beneficiaries, patients, and medical staff. The role handles the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information using computer applications; schedules appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; and coordinates administrative activity in the assigned area. MSAs support hospital admissions, clinic appointments, patient registration, workload data entry and validation, and management of consults, reminders, alerts, encounters, and related records. They communicate clinic and hospital information, coordinate procedures and follow-up appointments, monitor clinic and operating-room utilization, and help ensure continuity of care by working with patients and clinical teams. The position is full-time, non-remote, and work schedules are determined upon selection. Vacancies may be filled at GS-3 through GS-5; the full-performance level is GS-5.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• High school diploma, GED, or an accepted equivalent proficiency certificate is required.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required.
• Applicants must complete the application, questionnaire, and required online assessment.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Must be subject to and pass a background/security investigation and complete online onboarding.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a VA Health Care Personnel employee.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, as applicable.
• For GS-4, requires either one year of qualifying experience equivalent to GS-3 or one year of education above high school, plus the listed knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• For GS-4, must demonstrate basic medical terminology knowledge; ability to record patient messages and understand physician follow-up requests; courteous communication with people from varied backgrounds and healthcare team members; and ability to use office automation equipment and software.
• For GS-5, requires either one year of qualifying experience equivalent to GS-4 or two years of education above high school, plus the listed knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• For GS-5, must demonstrate advanced medical terminology knowledge; customer-service skills to identify concerns and refer them appropriately; ability to use computerized systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive patient information; ability to schedule clinical appointments; ability to work independently; and professional communication in person, electronically, and by telephone.

Responsibilities

• Provide first-line customer service by greeting Veterans and other stakeholders and providing guidance in outpatient clinics and the hospital.
• Provide advisory and technical assistance to Veterans and beneficiaries seeking care, reporting problems, or requesting information.
• Process hospital admissions, clinic appointments, patient registration, workload data, and data validation.
• Manage consults, recall reminders, alerts, mod sheets, and encounters for assigned specialty clinics.
• Use systems and processes including Insurance Capture Buffer, Patient Check-IN, Consult Toolbox, Consult Tracking Manager, and My HealtheVet functions.
• Resolve consults within seven days and encounters daily.
• Assist Veterans and professional staff with coordinating scheduled procedures and return appointments.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments, examinations, and procedures, including procedures and testing performed by other services.
• Provide information about unit, clinic, and hospital policies, procedures, and locations, and refer difficult questions or concerns to appropriate resources.
• Maintain and monitor patient appointment schedules, communicate delays, and monitor clinic and operating-room utilization.
• Contact patients regarding next-day appointments and no-shows, and review audio reminder cancellation and rescheduling reports.
• Oversee daily processing of patients for inpatient and outpatient appointments and procedures.
• Prepare detailed daily reports for Medical Administration Service leadership on missed opportunities, consults, encounters, unsigned notes and orders, and other clinic issues.
• Perform administrative follow-up and participate in team meetings to manage and plan patient care.
• Share information and collaborate with the medical team to support continuity of care.
• Set priorities and deadlines, estimate and report task milestones, monitor work progress, and adjust work according to established priorities.
• Communicate team progress toward performance goals and seek supervisory assistance with major issues or problems.
• Safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure.

Benefits

• Competitive salary with regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered based on pay, qualifications, or VA needs.
• 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.
• Eligible employees may receive credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service.
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with birth, adoption, or foster-care placement.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to family income, eligible costs, and monthly maximums.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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