Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Patient Administration is responsible for the administrative support of clinical services to include Primary Care and various Specialty Clinics located in the Community Based Outpatient Clinics. This position requires daily communication through face-to-face interactions with veterans, supervisors, family members, internal customers within VA Columbia Health Care System (VACHCS), VISN 7, and university affiliates.

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

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The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) at this grade level is at the Advanced level. The Advanced Medical SupportAssistant (MSA) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model(Patient Aligned Care Team) and/or Specialty clinics. The AMSA at this level works independently and is considered the chief source of patient information and plays an important role in accomplishing the administrative work within the outpatient clinics by the duties listed below:

• Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230 and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.
• Daily review of consults (active/pending), Recall List (Delinquent), Return to Clinic Orders (Query from VS GUI) and View Alerts for accurate disposition.
• Ensuring appropriate patient actions are taken within VS GUI (scheduling, check-in, check­out, and no-shows).
• Extracting medical information from electronic records when requested by Providers, Social Workers, Nurses, and Supervisors for patient education purposes only while maintaining HIPPA standards.
• Timely receiving and directing patients and visitors, in person and by telephone (ACD), answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referral of questions concerning patients' care.
• Verify and update patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data.
• Ensuring patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations through Audiocare, VeText, VS GUI, etc.)
• Monitoring and maintaining the delinquent recall, insurance capture buffer exception list and proper use of Vet Link for clinics assigned.
• Coordinate patient transportation and/or travel concerns with the Veterans Transportation Service and Bene-Travel Staff.
• Providing information of medical center policies and procedures.
• Notifies Supervisor when clinic access is less than desirable or if an individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes.
• Responsible for the tracking and management of consults and Return to Clinic orders for clinics assigned.
• Responsible for providing feedback to providers when additional information for scheduling is required.
• Responsible for same day actions of consult management.
• Required to make first (phone), second (letter) and third (Mental Health) contact with veteran.
• Responsible for discontinuing consults when appropriate as directed by VHA 1232.
• Responsible for providing feedback to providers when additional information for scheduling is required.
• Ensuring that consults greater than 90 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
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 Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 61745F

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Applicants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office or other work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR
• Education: One 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: Must possess one (1) full year (52 weeks) of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05).

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: The work of the positions is primarily sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending stooping and carrying of small items such as files may be required.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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.
• Must pass 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 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.