Summary The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center Altoona is recruiting for a Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position. The AMSA will function in Health Administration service. The AMSA is a key member of the patient care team providing crucial administrative advice and guidance. Responsibilities 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. Some of the major duties of this position include, and are not limited to: Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit. Schedule patient appointments by interpreting and verifying provider orders such as Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, Patient Centered Scheduling "recall" requests, consults, New Enrollee Appointment Requests (NEAR) and other order sources. Schedules future appointments in accordance with provider clinic profiles, Advanced Clinic Access principles, and input from the patient. Generate and provide After Visit Summary for patient following appropriate actions by provider. Canceling and rescheduling appointment request. Completing no-show process including documenting, marking the appointment as a no-show and rescheduling. Monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources. Verifying and updating demographics including temporary addresses, insurance information, and sharing caregiver information. Works closely with involved providers to expedite emergency request to assure timely patient care. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. 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. Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies. Receives and relays a high volume of incoming and outgoing communication via telephone, fax, and email, from patients, staff and outside sources concerning a variety of medical, personnel, and administrative matters. Determines the nature of the inquiry and independently responds or routes to appropriate clinical staff in a timely manner appropriate to the urgency of the correspondence. Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team. Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs. Identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed. Performing clerical duties related to patient care and treatments such as admitting and discharging, travel arrangements, forwarding medication orders, work orders, and maintaining electronic medical charts. Manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday to Friday Telework: Not authorized Functional Statement #: 503-03194-F Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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. 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 dentification 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. Qualifications 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. 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. 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. 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: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) GS-06: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the specialized experience for the grade: Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience includes, but is not limited to: Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; Scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; 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; 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 VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment @type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-06 to GS-06. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Education 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 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. 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: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation. 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 the standard. If an employee who 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
