Medical Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration • Wilkes Barre, PA

12d

About The Position

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) independently performs administrative duties supporting healthcare delivery in inpatient or outpatient settings. The role advises clinical staff on administrative processes and supports patient care and treatment across inpatient units, outpatient clinics, patient scheduling call centers, Care in the Community Support Staff (CITC), and ancillary support services. The MSA serves as an initial point of contact for patients and staff and uses electronic medical records and other systems to coordinate appointments, orders, consults, and patient information.

The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Compressed or flexible scheduling, telework, and virtual work are not available. Overtime opportunities may be available on weekends and holidays. The announcement may be used to fill any open MSA vacancies throughout the VISN for up to 90 days after closing, with applicants referred as vacancies become available.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception under VA policy for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Six months of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative experience; or one year of education above high school; or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
• For GS-5: one year of experience equivalent to GS-4, or two years of education above high school.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology sufficient to understand diagnoses and procedures and communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• 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.
• Customer-service skill, including identifying customer concerns and referring them to appropriate staff for resolution.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination and background/security investigation.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification and all required application documents.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the conditions described in the announcement.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones, greet patients, and relay messages to appropriate staff inside or outside the unit.
• Schedule appointments, interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
• Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and consults.
• Enter no-show information and monitor appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participate in huddles with other MSAs and clinic staff to determine daily clinic needs.
• Monitor inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Verify and update patient demographics and insurance information at appointment 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, including TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, or VA employee status.
• Serve as an initial point of contact for units, clinics, patients, call centers, and CITC.
• Schedule patient appointments and track, review, and respond to electronic orders, consults, and other elements in electronic medical records and medical systems.
• Use computerized data-entry and information-processing systems and software related to patient care, healthcare organization and services, visitor rules, and patient treatment procedures.
• Apply standard procedures and knowledge of medical records and medical terminology.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to eligible employees and their families.
• Eligible applicants may request credit for prior work or military service toward annual leave accrual; approval is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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