The incumbent serves as the Mental Health Service Advanced Medical Support Assistant (MSA) and provides clerical and administrative support for multiple clinical programs within Mental Health Service at the San Francisco VAMC and it's affiliated CBOCs. The duties of this position are performed on a regular basis in the major areas of psychiatry programs.
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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience and Education: 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: Medical Support Assistants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English. 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 for the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted or changed to a lower grade within the occupation.(2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard.(3) If an employee was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06: Experience: One (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in Federal service (GS-05). Experience includes: Clinic experience in a hospital or doctor's office setting to include scheduling a high volume of appointments annually. High level customer service skills as evidenced by daily interaction and communication with clinicians, patients, families and coworkers. Evidence of work in a clinic setting with multiple inputs (in person, telephone, instant message communications) that need timely and professional resolution. Evidence of specific computer scheduling programs or software utilized in a clinic or hospital. Entering, modifying, retrieving sensitive information into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports; Scheduling medical appointments in a clinical setting; Performing patient support work; Providing customer service and identifying patient concerns to ensure satisfactory resolution; Advanced level of medical terminology. And Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. 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. Assignment. The Advanced MSA provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.). 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-06. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.
These positions serve as a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) at VA Providence Health care Systems. Position is responsible for a wide range of assignments and provides administrative support to the assigned section. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Enters, manipulates, and retrieves information and data from the Vista and other clinical information systems as appropriate to the area assigned. Schedule and coordinate appointments for patients with various clinics, ensuring all treatment requested by the clinicians have been scheduled, and rescheduling appointments when necessary in accordance with VHA Directive 2010-027, Scheduling Outpatient Processes and Procedures. Coordinates the scheduling to avoid conflicts in different clinic schedules. Ensures appointments are timely and in accordance with physicians and clinician's requests. Ensures preappointment letters and three follow reminder appointment calls are made as the action plan to address the Missed Opportunity Performance Measure for Mental Health Service. Receives telephonic requests for information and transmits requests to the appropriate physician and/or clinician. Assists clinic administrator and other personnel with workload accountability information such as the Encounter Action Required Reports, and Electronic Waitlists. Responsible for answering calls and are professional, courteous, and tactful in nature, and that responses given are appropriate. Responsible for developing, maintaining and monitoring standards for appropriate responses to patient requests for assistance. Ensures staff is knowledgeable of the services provided and are prepared to furnish information such as: telephone numbers, locations of offices and personnel and clinic hours of operation. Receives patients via telephone calls and visitors to clinics, as the initial point of contact, ascertaining the nature of the call or visit, obtaining identifying information, and determining the nature and urgency of the patient's request. Applies clinic guidelines concerning release of patient information. Refers patient to appropriate staff member as required. Verifies patient's eligibility for treatment. Interviews new patients to the clinic, determining nature of visit and providing information on appointment, clinic hours, and services. Refers urgent messages and patient results for immediate actions. Provides information regarding unit, clinic and hospital policies, procedures, and locations to patients, family members, staff, etc., or refers to other resources for difficult questions or concerns. Monitors and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients. Attempts to resolve complaints of a local administrative nature and refers other complaints to appropriate authorities. Responsible for the clerical duties inherent in the admission, care and discharge of inpatients or the in processing, care and out-processing, of outpatients and guests. Notifies appropriate staff of the patient's arrival. Reconciles end-of-shift/end-of-day processing and reports such as documentation of daily no-shows and cancelled appointments. As required types routine correspondence, progress reports, memorandum and statistical reports using VISTA and Excel. Incumbent may also be required to perform various duties in making arrangements for travel. Maintains the space utilization calendar for staff, scheduling and preventing double booking of clinical space for patient care based on staff schedules for the day and during leave of absence. Maintains all patients' records, either electronic or paper, according to regulation insuring each entry contains proper patient and health care proper identification. Perform duties as a timekeeper and will provide administrative assistance with Engineering work orders and non-ADPAC related computer work orders. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000/Advanced Medical Support Assistant Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized