Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Medical Support Assistant in the Community Care Section at the Tennessee Valley VA Health Care System. The incumbent supports Community Care operations, focusing on the coordination of care provided by external healthcare providers. Duties involve the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information.

Duties

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The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments and processing provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Major duties include, but are not limited to :

• Schedules, cancels, and reschedules patient appointments and consults, as well as preparing for Community Care visits by ensuring necessary documents are available and encounter forms are completed.
• Verifies and updates patient demographics and insurance information and perform basic eligibility checks, co-pays, and pre-authorization requirements for specific coverage.
• Ensures timely coordination between VA providers and external community care providers.
• Records patient messages and respond to physician requests related to follow-up care in Community Care settings.
• Interacts courteously with patients and their families, addressing inquiries and providing information about referrals, eligibility, and care coordination. MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant :

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, 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

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday 8 : 00am-4 : 30pm

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus) : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance) : Not Authorized

Pay : Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of 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)

Telework : Not available

Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 70954F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

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 interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider :

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.

Qualifications

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 :

Experience. Six 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,

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 : GS-05 Medical Support Assistant (Full Performance Level)

Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and / or reports.

Note : You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start / end dates AND hour worked per week.

Reference : For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-05

Physical Requirements : Operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items. Work Environment : The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak hours or on days that have a large volume of activity. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT : A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note : Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here : If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit :

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA / OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.