Clarification from the agency

The area of consideration will be referred in the following order: 1) Current permanent Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC and associated clinics employees. 2) Current permanent Agency (Department of Veterans Affairs) employees.

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Duties include but not limited to:

• Administers the management of health records, which includes planning, managing, advising, and directing the health information program in accordance with applicable Federal laws, facility by-laws, VHA policy, The Joint Commission standards, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and other regulatory and accrediting agencies.
• Creates and monitors systems to ensure accurate, timely, and complete health records, in accordance with VHA policy and The Joint Commission health information protocols.
• Measures ongoing intradepartmental performance by establishing priorities, collecting data, monitoring and reporting outcomes, using valid and reliable techniques to analyze trends and variation, and taking appropriate action based on findings.
• Audits of all HIM functions and ensuring appropriate compliance.
• Ensures maintenance of complete, accurate, timely, clinically-pertinent, and readily-accessible patient health records, which contain sufficient recorded information to serve as a basis to plan patient care, support diagnoses, warrant treatment, measure outcomes, support education and facilitate performance improvement processes and legal requirements.
• Develops policies, processes, and procedures that address all VA, Federal, regulatory, and accrediting requirements for HIM.
• Evaluates health records program and independently determines the nature and extent of problem areas.
• Develops recommendations and solutions for program improvement.
• Develops and implements innovative solutions to correct technical, complex problems.
• Provides technical expertise in health records science and other very technical aspects of health information.
• Maintains all health information input into the local VistA database and assures timely transmission of that data into all VA centralized databases -most frequently those maintained at the Austin Data Processing Center.
• Ensures that all health information that is coded and abstracted meets the requirements of the VA and/or The Joint Commission and is consistent with professional health records standards.
• Serves as a key advisor to the Chief of Staff, Executive Leadership, and clinicians and is responsible for providing technical guidance on health information issues such as documentation requirements, liability issues, advance directives, informed consent, patient privacy and confidentiality, etc.
• Recommends improvements in documentation used to provide patient care, to optimize VERA workload, third party reimbursement and to manage resources.
• Completes internal quality assurance reviews and audits to ensure employee performance meets quality and quantity standards.
• Establishes monitors to ensure the timeliness of hard-copy and/or electronic health record entries and reports findings with subsequent trending of data.
• Provides management officials hard copy and/or electronic health record review results and trends on an ongoing basis.
• Maintains and reports delinquent records by number, type of deficiencies and responsible provider.
• Serves as a resource for patient data on both patient-specific and aggregate databases.
• Represents HAS and the Associate Director and acts as subject matter expert at the facility-wide Health Records Committee.
• Ensures that the facility is following all The Joint Commission and CARF standards regarding health information.
• Ensures that all patients have a complete, accurate, and timely record of their medical care at the facility. Also, must assure that such information is appropriately stored and readily available for the provision of medical services to the patients.
• leads the automation of all health information systems.

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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Paragraph 2a:
Coding Certification. Mastery certification obtained through the American Health 1 Information Management Association (AHIMA) or the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC). To be acceptable for qualification, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in the occupation. Stand-alone specialty certifications do not meet the definition of mastery level coding certification and are not acceptable for qualifications. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of mastery level coding certification may be added/removed by the above certifying bodies; however, current mastery level coding certifications include: Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) - Physician-based (CCS-P), Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), and Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC).

Paragraph 2c.
Health Data Analyst Certification. This is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA. To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must certify mastery in health data analysis. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of health data analyst certification may be added/removed by the above certifying body; however, current health data analyst certification includes Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA).

Paragraph 2d:
Health Information Management (HIM) Certification. Higher-level health information management certification is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA. To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in the occupation. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of HIM certification may be added/removed by the above certifying body; however, current HIM certifications include Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Candidates must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• English Language Proficiency. MRAs must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education or Experience:
  • Experience. Three years of creditable experience in the field of medical records that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of health records and health information systems demonstrating a knowledge of medical terminology, medical records procedures, medical coding, or medical, administrative, and legal requirements of health care delivery systems.

• Education. Successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, with a major field of study in health information management, or a related degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours in health information management or health information technology.

• Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education that equals 100 percent may be used to meet basic requirements. For example, two years above high school from an accredited college or university, with 12 semester hours in health information technology/health information management, plus one year and six months of creditable experience that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of health records and health information systems meets an equivalent combination.
• Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRA positions in the GS-0669 series in VHA must meet one of the following:
  • Coding Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
• NOTE. See paragraph 2a above for a detailed definition of Coding Certification.

• HIM Certification through AHIMA.
• NOTE. See paragraph 2d above for a detailed definition of HIM Certification.

• Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA.
• NOTE. See paragraph 2c above for a detailed definition of Health Data Analyst Certification.
• NOTE. HIMs Certification is required for all positions above the full performance level.

• Ability to determine and evaluate compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory guidelines and accrediting bodies, as they apply to health information management.
• Skill in evaluating, developing and implementing] new policies, procedures, and programs.
• Ability to provide program oversight, including advisory and technical expertise on a range of health information management practices and guidelines to staff at various levels.
• Ability to develop and conduct training on health information management programs, policies, procedures, and performance improvement activities.
• Ability to effectively procure and manage HIM resources (i.e. space, staffing, education, budget, etc.).
• Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties to include assignment of work; completing performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
• Customer service skills necessary to effectively communicate (written and verbal) and interact with all levels of hospital personnel, physicians, patients, and outside agencies.
• Ability to deal effectively with sensitive and/or complex situations.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.