Advanced Medical Support Assistant

About the Role

The employee serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in the VA Care in the Community program at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System in Tuskegee, AL.

Key Responsibilities

• Initiating and carrying out a variety of administrative and technical duties in support of the VA Community Care Program.
• Providing expert, efficient, and accurate responsive assistance to Veterans seeking care on the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) Line within Community Care.
• Meeting and exceeding productivity standards.
• Utilizing multiple systems to review consults, create packets for consults, and create authorizations.
• Processing consults from end to end, including preferences, review for approval, creating documentation packets (REFDOC), applying screening triage tools, applying standard episode of care (SEOC), sending consults to the authorization system, faxing to vendors, contacting vendors/Veterans about appointment information, inputting appointments into computerized systems, and mailing appointment letters and authorizations.
• Providing seamless Customer Service via phone, face-to-face, and computer-based software.
• Monitoring the Community Care Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) line.
• Screening and receiving phone calls courteously and timely, determining the nature of the request, assessing caller needs, and providing desired information using HIPAA guidelines and established Community Care processes.
• Completing warm handoffs to other departments as deemed appropriate.
• Providing vendors and Veterans with consult updates as requested.
• Contacting Veterans by telephone to educate them on the Community Care consult process and coordinate appointments with other VA facilities, contract vendors, or community providers.
• Possessing advanced knowledge of methods and metrics that directly affect access to Community Care, hospital performance goals and objectives, and public image.
• Performing additional duties as assigned.

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
• Subject to change due to department needs.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• United States Citizenship (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy).
• English Language Proficiency: Proficient in spoken and written English.
• Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees in this occupation who meet criteria).

Qualifications

• Experience:
• None required for basic requirements.
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Education:
• High school diploma, General Education Development (GED) equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process, including 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 affecting patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions (e.g., appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability).
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology.
• 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.
• 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.
• Physical Requirements:
• Visual acuity.
• Keen hearing.
• Clear, distinctive speech.
• Manual dexterity.
• Potentially long periods of continued sitting, telephone and computer usage, walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing.
• Transferring of equipment/objects may be required.

Preferred Experience

• Clerical experience.
• Microsoft Excel.
• Call Center experience.

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).
• Parental Leave: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment.
• Child Care Subsidy: Eligible full-time employees with total family income below $144,000 may receive up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs, 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.

Other Information

• Telework: Not available.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.