Summary The position is in Health Administration Service and serves as the Lead Medical Support Assistant in PACT, Specialty Care, Mental Health, Radiology, and/or Community Care Sections. The employee performs administrative support functions including scheduling appointments, inbound/outbound phone support, consult review and necessary documentation related to care coordination for treatment of patients in the medical center or outpatient clinics. Responsibilities The Lead MSA is a subject matter expert for scheduling processes/operations and assists in training as well as workload coordination and daily workflow assignments. The Lead MSA demonstrates strong communication and customer services skills and works closely with all staff members performing the administrative duties essential to support the timely care of patients and support of the service/unit goals. The Lead MSA monitors and makes work assignments, provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues, and maintains efficient workflow. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: assuring coverage of all areas of responsibility; conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work; ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; assist in providing workload; assist in creating and maintaining employee work schedules; orienting and providing on-the-job training for new and current employees; ensuring all training requirements are met; organizing the work structure of his/her assigned areas; and acting as liaison between MSA and clinical staff in order to improve day to day operations. Employee supports workload distribution among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization, assures timely accomplishment of the assigned workload as directed by the MSA Supervisor; validates assigned work and reviews completed work to ensure adherence to applicable to work sequences, procedures, directives, methods, and deadlines, and communicate accordingly to the MSA Supervisor. Incumbent may amend or reject work not meeting established standards and provide appropriate intervention/training as directed by the MSA Supervisor. Lead MSA checks the status and progress of work and may support adjustments in accordance with established priorities and/or obtaining assistance from the supervisor when necessary. Lead MSA creates and maintains consult, RTC, and recall reports for assigned areas to ensure that patients are scheduled in a timely manner; assists with access measures by monitoring clinic appointment availability and ensures that all open appointment slots are filled; reviews open encounters on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for all clinical areas; provides reports about open encounters to all supervisors and distributes encounters to staff for completion as directed. Perform clinical cancellations in accordance with policy and ensures that insurance capture has been achieved for assigned areas. The Lead MSA performs a full range of administrative duties and is a subject matter expert for scheduling processes/operations and is assists in training. The Lead MSA is responsible for scheduling appointments, including interpreting, and verifying provider orders/consults in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines and directives. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; preparing for clinic visits; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility; ensuring encounter completion in order to obtain appropriate workload credit; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other clinics, other VA facilities or private hospitals; performing basic eligibility review, co-pays, and pre-authorization requirements for specific coverage. The Lead MSA is accountable for adherence to all organizational and departmental policies, directives; and standards pertaining to all job functions, especially scheduling process, use of the recall system, pre-registration updates, check-in, check-out, clinic "clean-up", patient confidentiality and privacy laws, business office policies and insurance capture. The Lead MSA attends staff meetings, training and clinical huddles and informs relevant staff of issues in a timely matter. The Lead MSA supports Patient Safety standards using the correct Veterans Affairs identification of all patients and adheres to standards/responsibilities in responding to medical emergencies. The Lead MSA must demonstrate strong customer service and collaboration. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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. Must pass TB Test. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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: (1) 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 (2) Education - One year above high school; or (3) Experience/Education - Equivalent combination of experience and education. 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 3j.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). 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: Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-07. In order to be found qualified for this position, you must possess the following: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6). The required specialized experience for this position must include: Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model; Applies 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; Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines; Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model; Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and Develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies Manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc. Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient; Setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; Monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure. Candidates must also demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 1. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. 2. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. 3. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. 4. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect [and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff] 5. Ability to provide staff development and training. 6. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics. GS-07 Lead Medical Support Assistant Assignment: The Lead MSA [is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to: ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.] For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. References: VA Handbook 5005/117, PART II, APPENDIX G45 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Physical Requirements: The employee must be able to perform all activities of the position without restriction. The work is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, or small parts. Incumbent may be susceptible to eyestrain from working long hours on the computer. The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary (6-8 hrs.) although, there is some walking (1 hr.), bending (1hr), and carrying of bulky files (1-10 lbs.) and some extended periods of standing (2 hrs.). Education Additional Information 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.