Medical Support Assistant

Medical Support Assistant

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves within the Surgical Care Service Line at Iowa City VA Medical Center in Iowa City, IA. The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health and administrative information. The MSA interfaces with personal computer (PC) applications as well as numerous Vista applications. Medical Support Assistants are responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders.

Responsibilities include: 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; 7:30am - 4 or 8:00am - 4:30pm.

Telework: Not available.

Functional Statement #: 00000.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.

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. You may be required to serve a trial period. 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.

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). Experience and Education. (1) 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 (2) Education. One year above high school; OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Certification. None required. Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

Grade Determinations:

GS-3 MSA (Entry Level): Experience: You must meet the Basic Requirements outlined above. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition you must be able to demonstrate all of the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) listed below:

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments.
• Ability to utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems.
• Ability to learn and utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care.

GS-4 MSA (Developmental Level): Experience: One year of experience in 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. Examples of experience include but are not necessarily limited to: meet, communicate, and interact with individuals in a courteous and helpful manner in order to give instructions and arrange appointments; utilize computer systems to enter administrative data in patient systems; utilize basic medical terminology to record patient messages and physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care, OR Education: Two years above high school. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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.
• 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.
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-5 MSA (Full Performance Level): Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Examples of experience include but not be limited 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; 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; knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients; skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics. OR Education: Four years of education above high school. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, however, there may be some walking, standing, bending and transporting items under 20 pounds. Works extensively in the hospital computer system.

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.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications.

Education:

If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience), you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application.

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/.

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.