Advanced Medical Support Assistant

About the Role

The Syracuse VA Medical Center has 5 vacancies for an Advanced Medical Support Assistant within the Business Office. The MSA performs a wide variety of administrative and clerical duties as a member of the health care team. MSAs may be assigned to an area and rotated to different areas as needed. The MSA utilizes multiple computer applications – as well as the integrated electronic medical record system.

Key Responsibilities

• Receives and relays incoming and outgoing telephone messages.
• Checks patients in and out from appointments.
• Schedules return to clinic orders.
• Sets up clinic paperwork.
• Processes faxes, scanning, and printing of documents.
• Directs patients to other areas of the hospital.
• Changes and reschedules clinics.
• Greets patients upon presentation.
• Cancels and reschedules appointments.
• 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.
• Develops and/or maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with the care team as appropriate.
• 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.
• Sets 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.
• Assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions.
• Enters appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure.
• 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 (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community).
• Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• 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.
• Utilizes multiple computer applications.
• Utilizes the integrated electronic medical record system.

Qualifications

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States.
• Experience: Six months of 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: Proficient in spoken and written English.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

Work Schedule

• Full-time: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, and 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.

Pay

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• A higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA.

Benefits

• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
• Parental Leave: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment.
• Child Care Subsidy: Eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to a monthly maximum of $416.66 after 60 days of employment.
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care.