Advanced Medical Support Assistant (New Patient Coordinator)

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) at the Hampton VAMC under the Hampton VA Healthcare System with the department of Health Administration.

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

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The Advanced MSA is responsible for scheduling New Patient Appointments, including newly separated Veterans, those transitioning from another location, or those returning for care, with a 60-minute appointment unless otherwise stated by the Service Line.

• The incumbent will receive and process requests from sources including the Clinical Contact Center, PACT AMSAs via VA Online Scheduling, NEAR report, Community Care, etc.
• Review the NEAR report daily to assess the need for Primary Care and schedule initial appointments for Veterans; enter community care consults as required; schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments.
• Support Primary Care's appointment access requirements by maintaining standard goals as outlined in performance standards.
• Orient incoming AMSAs and ensure coverage for new patient scheduling.
• Process documents and reports, ensuring completeness and accurate data entry.
• Collaborate with PCMM Coordinators to schedule with available PACT teams for maximum patient access while minimizing provider workload.
• Schedule appointments following decisions from provider change requests, PATS-Rs, congressional or White House complaints, or as directed by Primary Care leadership
• Participate in team meetings, providing input on operational issues or procedures.
• Independently follow up on team huddles as needed, sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to ensure continuity of care.
• May support Service Line with clerical tasks such as ordering supplies, timekeeping, and other administrative duties as required.
• Use MS Word and similar software for document and file management, mailing patient letters, reports, memoranda, and transmitting/receiving emails. Perform traditional office tasks such as faxing, scanning, and requesting medical records from community providers. Use MS Excel for tracking new patients.
• Use Integrated Scheduling Solution (ISS), Veterans Health Information & Technology Architecture (VISTA/VSE Gui), Cerner, or Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) for administrative needs within the scope of duties.

Work Schedule: 7:30am-4:00pm; 8:00am-4:30pm (Monday- Friday)
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
• Certification: None required.
• Experience and Education:
  • 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
  • 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).

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.

In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements. To qualify at this level, candidates must have: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of credible experience 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 clinical/medical facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 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 https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary; however, the incumbent will have episodes of standing, twisting, bending, sitting and carrying of supplies (up to 40 pounds) in support of the clinical areas assigned.

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.
• 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.
• 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.