Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) -Patient Align Care Team

Veterans Health Administration•Yuba City, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant provides clerical and administrative support for multiple clinical departments and gives on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices. The role provides appointment-related information by telephone and in person to the public, professional staff, and civilian and military personnel. Working as part of an interdisciplinary Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), the Advanced Medical Support Assistant coordinates clinic utilization and setup, collaborates with the care team to organize work and meet deadlines, and participates in huddles and meetings to plan patient care. The position follows up on team discussions, shares patient information with medical staff, coordinates follow-up care with patients, and helps ensure continuity of care. The role uses VistA and other clinical information systems to enter, retrieve, and manage patient information. Duties include registration and chart compilation; preparing forms and orders; scheduling and coordinating appointments; reviewing medical records; recording physicians’ orders; completing and filing documentation; helping patients complete required forms; and supporting inpatient admission, care, and discharge or outpatient processing. The employee may also support workload accountability, reconcile end-of-shift or end-of-day processing, maintain travel documentation, and manage staff calendars and files.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under applicable law.
Proficiency in spoken and written English.
High school diploma, GED equivalency certificate, or state or territorial proficiency certificate.
One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade for the GS-6 grade determination.
Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care, including scheduling across interdisciplinary care models or care in the community and patient health care portals.
Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures for interdisciplinary care delivery or care in the community that affect patient flow and administrative support functions, including appointment cycles, outside referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, and provider availability.
Advanced knowledge of medical terminology.
Ability to collaborate and communicate with medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to achieve team goals and meet patient care needs.
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 electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing with internal and external customers; this may include preparing reports, presenting data, and resolving patient concerns.
Completion of all required application steps, including an online assessment, and successful completion of required background/security and onboarding processes.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA health care personnel.
Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the stated evaluation and certification conditions.

Responsibilities

Provide clerical and administrative support for multiple clinical departments and train new employees on established procedures and practices.
Provide appointment-related information to the public and staff by telephone and in person.
Collaborate with the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) to review clinic utilization, monitor clinic setup, and make necessary adjustments.
Coordinate, communicate, prioritize, and organize work with the PACT to meet deadlines and comply with processes, policies, and regulations.
Participate in team huddles and meetings to plan patient care, set priorities and deadlines, and adjust work flow to team and patient needs.
Follow up on team huddles, share information, collaborate with medical staff to support continuity of care, inform providers about shared patients, and contact patients to coordinate follow-up care.
Use reference sources, sound judgment, and team collaboration to resolve problems in a complex systems environment.
Enter, manipulate, and retrieve information in VistA and other clinical information systems as appropriate.
Complete mini-registration and compile patient charts.
Complete requested forms manually or through automated systems for patient orders and consults, including blood work, X-rays, radiation therapy, respiratory or ventilated care, and other requests.
Schedule and coordinate appointments across clinics, ensure physician-requested treatment is scheduled, reschedule appointments when needed, avoid schedule conflicts, and ensure appointments are timely.
Explain test preparations to patients and route telephonic information requests to the appropriate physician.
Assist clinic administrators and other personnel with workload accountability information.
Obtain and review patient medical records before scheduled appointments.
Record physicians’ orders in charts in a timely manner, including orders containing medical terminology, symbols, and abbreviations.
Ensure original medical documentation and forms are completed and filed before forwarding records to the medical records room.
Ensure patients complete necessary forms before being seen by a provider.
Perform clerical duties related to inpatient admission, care, and discharge or outpatient and guest processing; notify appropriate staff when patients arrive.
Reconcile end-of-shift or end-of-day processing and reports.
May maintain copies of travel documents, including travel vouchers and leave forms, and manage staff calendars, files, and documents to prevent scheduling conflicts.