Advanced Medical Support Assistant

The AMSA performs administrative support functions including scheduling appointments inbound/outbound phone support consult review and necessary documentation related to care coordination for treatment of patients in the medical center or outpatient clinics. The Advanced MSA demonstrates strong communication and customer services skills and works closely with all staff members performing the administrative duties essential to support the timely care of patients and support of the service/unit goals.
Duties include but are not limited to:

• Greets and checks patients in/out for appointments.
• Schedules/Cancels appointments and interprets/verifies provider orders/consults in accordance with VHA Scheduling directives and guidelines.
• Ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic and makes any necessary adjustments.
• Develops/maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient interdisciplinary team VA medical centers and other agencies.
• Facilitates/processes secure messaging with the patient and team; notifies patients of normal lab results.
• Develops and manages a tracking system for follow up care such as consults tests etc..
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care.
• Sets priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• May work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Monitors pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g. X-ray lab work).
• Monitors orders consults recalls to verify and validate accuracy resolve issues and schedule/disposition as necessary.

• Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines.
• Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) or the clinical team within the Specialty they are supporting to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and makes adjustments as necessary.
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage plan problem solve and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team.

• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure.
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients (i.e. those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community)
• Supports Patient Safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients and adheres to standards/responsibilities in responding to medical emergencies.
• Other duties as assigned by MSA Supervisor or Lead MSA

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday TBD.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Advanced Medical Support Assistant/53181-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must TB test pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience: None.
• Education: High school diploma General Education Development equivalency certificate or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5).This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of health care services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. The MSA is responsible for answering phones greeting patients relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit and scheduling appointments including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.Assignments at this level include but are not limited to:

• Scheduling canceling re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults
• Entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources.
• Participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic.
• Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility.
• Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments.
• Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patients eligibility status (i.e. TRICARE sharing agreements collaterals research patient VA employee etc.).

Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including but not limited to scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care.
2. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow and patient support care administrative functions to include but not limited to appointment cycles outside patient referrals follow-up care overbooking provider availability etc.
3. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
4. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors nurse practitioners physician assistants psychologists psychiatrists social workers clinical pharmacists and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
5. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes policies and regulations.
6. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively electronically by phone in person and in writing with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels as well as resolving patient concerns.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please
visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required. The ability to deal effectively with organizational change role ambiguity and the stresses of juggling many priorities and rapidly responding to unanticipated critical situations is essential.