Medical Support Assistant; Advanced

Overview

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position is assigned to the Primary Care and Community Clinics Service (PCCCS) and provides administrative support within the Tucson VA Medical Center. The incumbent supports operational administrative needs for Casa Grande Community Outpatient Based Clinic (CBOC) & PCCCS.
The position is located at the CASA GRANDE CBOC.

The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team environment and performs receptionist duties, customer service, and other responsibilities for the proper and timely treatment of patients, maintaining appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics. The AMSA assists with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates, and can shift patients to other healthcare providers when staffing or coverage conflicts occur.

Incumbent screens and receives phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determines the nature of requests, and provides the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes. At this level, the AMSA performs a full range of duties to include scheduling appointments and interpreting provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. The incumbent communicates directly with patients to obtain required information to determine patient needs, and has knowledge of software used to run reports and queries.

The work includes functions such as serving as an initial point of contact for scheduling patient appointments, tracking, reviewing and responding to electronic orders, consults, and other elements in the electronic medical record. The incumbent must display practical knowledge of computerized data entry, information processing systems, and software related to patient care. The Advanced MSA plays an essential role in shaping the patient experience and is vital to providing timely access to health care.

Incumbent recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines and coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics.