Medical Support Assistant (Adv

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until July 25, 2023. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be February 9, 2023, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.
Qualifications: Basic Requirements:
The following are the basic requirements and amounts of experience and/or education required to qualify for this position. Creditable experience is defined as, experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) associated with current Medical Support Assistant responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a Medical Support Assistant.
English Language Proficiency
Experience - Six months experience of clerical, office or other work that indicates the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position, OR Education - One year above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university OR Combination - Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying for this position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
AND
Specialized Experience GS-6: One (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-5, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: 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 emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals; and performing basic eligibility, co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, etc.).In addition, applicants must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's):

• Ability to collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.
• Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care.
• Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care, and the revenue process.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: VA Handbook 5005/31, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
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.
Education: IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.Employment Type: FULL_TIME