Advanced Medical Support Assistant (Remote)

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) for the South Texas Veterans Healthcare System's Contact Center (CCC). The AMSA provides support across multiple ancillary and interprofessional clinics, and determines and coordinates the needs of the Veteran/caregiver. The AMSA routes clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff, provides information on programs and initiatives available to Veterans, and provides administrative referrals of services as needed.

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Duties

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Major duties include but are not limited to:
? Provide access to care via telephone calls, secure messaging, chat, text messaging and video.
? Relaying messages to appropriate staff.
? Scheduling, cancelling, and rescheduling appointments and/or consults.
? Interpreting and verifying provider orders.
? Recommend changes to existing clinic procedures.
? Utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics.
? Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication.
? Monitoring appointment requests via multiple electronic sources.
? Gathering, verifying and updating patient medical information.
? Processing medication refill requests.
? Obtaining and reviewing electronic health records.
? Monitoring outpatient appointments.
? Determine urgency of appointment scheduling.
? Screen and independently route contacts.
? Utilize various software, hardware system products, and data portals to transfer and capture information electronically.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m - 4:00 pm or 8:00 am - 4:30 pm - To be determined with Supervisor.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

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 (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Remote: This is a remote position.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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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.
? You may be required to serve a probationary period.
? Subject to background/security investigation.
? Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
? Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
? Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See 'Additional Information' below for details.

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).

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.

Creditable Experience:
? Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.
? Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of [varieties] as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
? Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as [an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in] a [non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, [an] MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive [one] full-time workweek of credit for each [two] weeks of service.

In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following criteria must be met to qualify at the GS-06 grade level::
? Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of experience includes: answering phones; greeting patients; relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; interpreting and verifying provider orders; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information during patient check-in; coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other facilities; and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).
? Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate 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.

Preferred Experience:
? 1 year Work Experience Scheduling Medical Appointments.
? Experience Resolving Costumer Complaints.
? Experience collaborating with clinical staff.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Position requires visual acuity, adequate auditory perception, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. Position requires potentially extended periods of sitting. The position requires some bending and carrying of items. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations and able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must meet Employee Health mandates as a condition of employment.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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.

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Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital

7400 Merton Minter Boulevard

San Antonio, TX 78229

US

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