• Michael McGowan, Melissa Medich, Danielle Rose, and Susan Stockdale.
• Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, & Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA. michael.mcgowan3@va.gov.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Feb 1; 37 (2): 390-396.

BackgroundVA clerks, or medical support assistants (MSAs), are a critical part of patients' primary care (PC) experiences and are often the first points of contact between Veterans and the healthcare system. Despite the important role they might play in assisting Veterans with accessing care, research is lacking on the specific tasks they perform and what training and preparation they receive to perform their roles.ObjectiveOur primary aim in this study was to document MSA perceptions of their roles, the tasks they undertake helping Veterans with accessing healthcare, and additional training they may need to optimally perform their role.DesignThematic analysis of semi-structured qualitative interviews with VA call center and PC MSAs (n=29) collected as part of in-person site visits from August to October 2019.ParticipantsMSAs at administrative call centers and primary care clinics in one large VA regional network representing 8 healthcare systems serving nearly 1.5 million Veterans.Key ResultsWe identified three key findings from the interviews: (1) MSAs perform tasks in addition to scheduling that help Veterans obtain needed care; (2) MSAs may not be fully prepared for their roles as first points of contact; and (3) low status and lack of recognition of the important and complex tasks performed by MSAs contribute to high turnover.ConclusionsAs healthcare systems continue expanding virtual access, the roles of administrative call center and PC MSAs as first points of contact will be increasingly important for shaping patient experiences. Our research suggests that MSAs may need better training and preparation for the roles they perform assisting Veterans with accessing care, coupled with an intentional approach by healthcare systems to address MSAs' concerns about recognition/compensation. Future research should explore the potential for enhanced MSA customer service training to improve the Veteran patient experience.© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.

10 keywords...

hide…