Job Information
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Advanced Medical Support Assistant in San Francisco, California
Summary The Advanced MSA is assigned to the Pain Clinic and will be responsible for providing clerical and administrative support to the Pain Management Program. The Advanced MSA is responsible for coordinating and maintaining the clinic appointment schedule for all providers within the pain management team. This position resides in Anesthesiology Service. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: 1) Assumes responsibility for all phone calls to the pain clinic, including both patient and staff inquiries and complaints. Triages phone calls to the appropriate provider as warranted by the situation. 2) Resolves all clinical and administrative issues by working with various members of the pain interdisciplinary team in the time frame dictated by the situation (emergent or non-emergent), and communicates resolution to the relevant party. 3) Schedules patients for clinic appointments and pain block procedures using VISTA scheduling software while adhering to the outpatient scheduling directives. 4) Schedules patients for pain block procedures using VISTA surgical package if an OR is needed. 5) Ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and makes any necessary adjustments. 6) Contacts patients scheduled for clinic appointments and pain block procedures and if appointment/procedure will be canceled or rescheduled. Reschedules appointments appropriately. 7) Manages clinic consults for the pain management team, triages them to the appropriate provider, and schedules the clinic appointment appropriately. 8) Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for visit/procedure. 9) Accepts appointment cancellation phone messages from patients and informs the pain clinic providers of the patient's condition and request to cancel. 10) Coordinates hoptel arrangements for appropriate pain clinic patients as necessary per clinical evaluation or providers. 11) Manages clinic profile changes or cancellations and responsible for new clinic set up. 12) Sets up and monitors electronic wait list (EWL) as necessary. Managing EWL to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions. 13) Sets up and manages clinic recall list for established patients. 14) Familiar with relevant CPT and ICD codes for clinic and procedures to assist in closing out encounters to ensure facility workload and billing. 15) Assists in scheduling pain management team staff meetings. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm or as determined by supervisor. Telework: This position may be eligible for telework at the discretion of the supervisor. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized 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). 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: Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). 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. Certification. None required. Grade Determinations: GS-06. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level -and- Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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, frequent keyboard usage, and 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. In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern. Education There is no education substitution at this grade level. 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.