Public affairs Jobs in Wichita Falls, TX

Medical Support Assistant

Performs duties related to the receipt, intake and indexing of health and administrative information. MSA's will interface with personal computer applications as well as numerous Vista applications. The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.

Incumbent is responsible for providing advisory and technical assistance to Veterans and beneficiaries who come to the medical center seeking medical care, experiencing problems or requesting information. The incumbent is also responsible for coordinating all administrative activity in the immediate area and to provide support and assistance to the professional staff. The duties of a Medical Support Assistant may include, but are not limited to :

• First line customer service representative. Greet and provide guidance to stakeholder at the outpatient clinics and hospital.
• Medical Support Assistant is responsible for the processing of hospital admissions, clinic appointments, registration of patients entering workload data and validation.
• Assists with managing consults, recall reminders, view alerts, mod sheets and encounters for assigned specialty clinics. Performs duties to capture increase through Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB), Patient Check-IN (PCI), Consult Toolbox, Consult Tracking Manager (CTM+), My HealtheVet (in-person authentication / secure messaging), patient updates and demographic changes. Ensure all consults are resolved within seven days and encounters are resolved daily. Each section will be responsible for providing guidance on scheduling within their section.
• On a weekly basis, summarizes the most frequent problems within the immediate area.
• Assists both the Veteran and appropriate professional staff in coordinating scheduled procedures and return appointments.
• Schedules appointments and provides information regarding unit, clinic and hospital policies, procedures and locations to patients, family members, staff, etc., or refers to other resources for difficult questions or concerns. Maintains and monitors patient appointment schedules for the unit / clinic and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients.
• Monitor both clinic and operating room utilization. Make necessary adjustments to support the needs of the clinic. Schedule, cancel and reschedule a great variety of exams and procedures. Facilitate the scheduling of procedures and testing performed by other services. Contact next day appointments and no-shows. Oversee the daily processing of patients for inpatient and outpatient appointment and procedures. Review audio reminder cancellation and reschedule reports.
• Provide a detailed daily report to the Medical Administration Service leadership to include missed opportunities, consults, encounters, unsigned notes and orders and any other clinic issues that arise.
• Perform administrative follow-up actions
• Participate in team meetings to manage and plan patient care. Independently share information and collaborate with the medical team to assure continuity of care. Set priorities and deadlines. Estimate and report on expected milestones for completion of tasks. Communicate team success in performance goals and report progress to the supervisor.
• Monitor the status on progress of work and make adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Obtain assistance from their supervisors as needed for major issues or problems that arise.
• Safeguard sensitive information against unauthorized disclosures

Work Schedule : Full time; to include nights, weekends and overnight shifts. Work schedule will be determined upon selection. Pay : Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off : 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave : After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy : After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 . Retirement : Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance : Federal health / vision / dental / term life / long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). Remote : This is not a remote position Telework : Not available Virtual : This is not a virtual position Financial Disclosure Report : Not required

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. 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, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In 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.

Basic Requirements : Citizenship : Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). English Language Proficiency : MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j. Experience : Six (6) months experience of clerical, office, [customer service], or other [administrative] work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position, OR; Education : One (1) year above high school, OR; Experience / Education Combination : Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. (May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations : In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates : Medical Support Assistant, GS-3 (a) Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. (b) Assignment. This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. At this level, MSAs apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients. They utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotates patient records. They make and cancel appointments, review patient records for necessary information, and review patient demographics and insurance verification.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-4 (a) Experience. One year of experience in clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR, (b) Education . Two years of education above high school. (c) Assignment. This is a developmental level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level receive minor and less frequent guidance from higher experienced staff members for more difficult tasks. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to : scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information; obtaining medical information from patients; and coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-5 (a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes : Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients; Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software