Medical Support Assistant
The Medical Support Assistant in the Community Based Outpatient Clinic performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The MSA works collaboratively with other members of expanded health care teams to provide a robust interdisciplinary approach to care. Important interfaces and collaborations also occur with larger health care system including VA and non-VA contacts. Responsibilities include but not limited to :
- Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery environment.
- Coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports.
- Ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic.
- Develops / maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, management team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
- Collects, scans, and updates health insurance information, promotes Veteran registration and utilization of My HealthyVet (MHV).
- Trains other MSAs on correct clinic operations and serves as a preceptor to developmental level MSAs.
- Schedules appointments; notifies his / her supervisor when clinic area access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated timeframes.
- Daily review of active / pending Consults, Encounters, Electronic Wait List, Recall list and MHV secure messaging communications for accuracy and disposition.
- Reports backlogs, difficulties in meeting deadlines, uncooperative physicians, or difficulty in securing information from clinicians or Employee plans.
- Organizes work independently and handles scheduling problems and deviations based on personal knowledge of clinic operations and policy, schedules, and provider's preferences.
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
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 # : 30201F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized
Requirements
Conditions of Employment :
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, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot 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).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 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 :
United States Citizenship : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.Education or Training : 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 One year above high school; OR Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.English Language Proficiency : MSA's must be proficient in spoken and written English.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-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) : In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements :
You must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 level.Examples of specialized experience 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 patient's eligibility status.AND Candidates must also demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) below :Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines.Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance 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.Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process.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.Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.Preferred Experience : Scheduling experience using Electronic Health Record (EHR) or Computerized Systems, Medical Terminology.
Reference : For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https : / / www.va.gov / ohrm / QualificationStandards .
The full performance level of this vacancy is 06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 06.
Physical Requirements : Typically, the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time.
Work Environment : The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity.
Education
There is no substitution of education for experience at this grade level.
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