Medical Support Assistant

Summary The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) supports the Mental Health Service at the Coralville VA Clinic. The MSA performs duties related to the receipt - intake - and indexing of health and administrative information. The incumbent will interface with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista and other various applications.

Qualifications Basic Requirements:

• a
• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.)
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens b
• Experience
• None
• c
• Education
• High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• d
• Licensure/Certification/Registration
• None
• f
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable - education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials
• g
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements
• h
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant - GS-03
• Experience or Education
• None beyond the basic requirements
• This is an entry level MSA position
• It is expected that MSAs at this level will receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision
• Medical Support Assistant - GS-04 Experience or Education
• Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• OR Education
• One year of education above high school
• This is a developmental level MSA position
• It is expected that MSAs at this level will 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 VA Handbook complaints
• interacting with both internal and external customers
• reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records - as well as administrative records
• Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients
• (b) Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics
• (c) 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
• (d) 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 - multiple line phone systems
• electronic faxing programs) to support patient care
• Medical Support Assistant - GS-05 Experience or Education
• Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• OR Education
• Two years of education above high school This is the full performance level for MSAs
• At this level - the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of health care services in an inpatient or outpatient setting
• Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes
• The MSA is responsible for answering phones - greeting patients - relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit - and scheduling appointments - including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients
• (b) Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns - and refer to the appropriate staff - as necessary - to ensure a satisfactory resolution
• (c) 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
• (d) Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting
• (e) Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
• (f) Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person - electronically - and/or by telephone - with internal and external customers
• 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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position
• The MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments - including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Assignments atthis level include - but are not limited to: scheduling - canceling - re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults Entering no-show information Monitoring the electronic wait list Preparing for clinic visits Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility Ensuring
• encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information Processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals Performing basic eligibility - co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
• 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized