Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens. If you are an internal applicant/current federal employee, you should apply to the internal announcement linked below CBSS-12841271-26-CB ***This announcement closes 03/02/2026 -OR- once it reaches 50 applicants***

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***This announcement closes 03/02/2026 -OR- once it reaches 50 applicants***

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Medical Records Technician (Coder-Outpatient & Inpatient) analyze and abstract patients' health records, and assign alpha-numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure. To perform this task, they must possess expertise in International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS). MRT Coder may also provide education related to coding and documentation.

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Review of documentation within the health record to assign ICD codes for diagnosis
• Assign CPT/HCPCS codes for inpatient professional services
• Review and abstract clinical data from the record
• Document diagnoses and procedures to ensure it is adequate and appropriate to support the assigned codes
• Code procedures in a wide range of inpatient settings and specialties
• Consult with the clinical staff for clarification of conflicting, incomplete, or ambiguous clinical data in the health record
• Query clinical staff with documentation requirements to support the coding process
• Abstract, assign, and sequence codes into encoder software
• Ensure codes accurately reflect services rendered
• Enter and correct information that has been rejected
• Record and transmit data
• Use a variety of computer applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, Access, CPRS, VistA )

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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 or Education:
  • Experience. One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of a health records. OR,
  • Education. An associate's degree from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education with a major field of study in health information technology/health information management, or a related degree with a minimum of 12 semester hours in health information technology/health information management (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical coding, and introduction to health records); OR,
  • Completion of an AHIMA approved coding program, or other intense coding training program of approximately one year or more that included courses in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, basic ICD diagnostic/procedural, and basic CPT coding. The training program must have led to eligibility for coding certification/certification examination, and the sponsoring academic institution must have been accredited by a national U.S. Department of Education accreditor, or comparable international accrediting authority at the time the program was completed; OR;
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education are qualifying for meeting the basic requirements. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and creditable experience:
    • Six months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical 4 terminology, general understanding of medical coding and the health record, and one year above high school, with a minimum of 6 semester hours of health information technology courses.
    • Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service, under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to six months of experience provided the training program included courses in anatomy, physiology, and health record techniques and procedures. Also, requires six additional months of creditable experience that is paid or non-paid employment equivalent to a MRT (Coder).
• Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either (1), (2), or (3) below:
  • (1) Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. This is considered an entry level coding certification and is limited to certification obtained through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), or the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in coding across a wide range of services. Stand-alone specialty certifications do not meet the definition of apprentice/associate level certification and are not acceptable for qualifications. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of apprentice/associate level certification may be added/removed by the above certifying bodies. However, current apprentice/associate level certifications include: Certified Coding Associate (CCA), Certified Professional Coder-Apprentice (CPC-A) and Certified Outpatient Coding Apprentice (COC-A).
  • (2) Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. This is considered a higher-level health information management or coding certification and is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA or AAPC. To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in the occupation. Stand-alone specialty certifications do not meet the definition of mastery level certification and are not acceptable for qualifications. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of mastery level certification may be added/removed by the above certifying bodies. However, current mastery level certifications include: Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), Certified Coding Specialist - Physician-based (CCS-P), Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC).
  • (3) Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS. This is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA or the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement 3 Specialists (ACDIS). To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must certify mastery in clinical documentation. Certification titles may change, and certifications that meet the definition of clinical documentation improvement certification may be added/removed by the above certifying bodies. However, current Clinical Documentation Improvement Certifications include: Clinical Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP) and Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist.

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:

Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient), GS-8

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for inpatient coding and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation. This includes the ability to read and understand the content of the health record, the terminology, the significance of the comments, and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient.
  • Ability to accurately perform the full scope of inpatient coding, including inpatient discharges, surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and inpatient professional services.
  • Skill in interpreting and adapting health information guidelines that are not completely applicable to the work or have gaps in specificity, and the ability to use judgment in completing assignments using incomplete or inadequate guidelines.

Preferred Experience:

• 1 + year of coding experience

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.


Physical Requirements: Use of Computerized Systems.

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.