Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Duties:

• Assists the Chief HIM (CHIM) in establishing policies, responsibilities, and requirements for health information management (HIM) related matters, such as health record documentation, coding and clinical documentation improvement, records management, release of information, file room/scanning, transcription and medical speech recognition, as well as the overall management of health information and Veteran's health records.
• Oversee implementation and adherence to HIM industry standards, policies, procedures, laws, regulations, and accrediting bodies.
• Ensures the facility is in compliance with applicable standards by completing HIM audits, healthcare data reports, and statistical information, for timely and accurate reporting.
• Establish, implement, and monitor HIM performance through metrics, productivity measures, benchmarking, and other applicable tools.
• Provides consultation and management support to the above units to ensure smooth operation of a customer-focused, forward-thinking and efficiently managed department.
• Functions as Acting Chief of the Section and is responsible for overall management of the Sections' program and function.
• Aids with the overall effective administration and planning of the HIM program throughout all areas of the facility in order to give maximum support to the staff in the treatment of patients.
• Performs documentation corrections: documentation errors consist of retracting erroneous notes, re-titling notes, assigning notes to or removing from consult requests.
• Analyzes workflow to determine potential problem areas and makes recommendations to correct these areas and improve coordination between the various units.
• Obtains, organizes, files, and retrieves reports, correspondence, and financial data for use in preparing status reports, briefings, and presentations.
• Identifies and recommends ways of eliminating, combining, simplifying, or improving procedures and processes.
• Establishes criteria and provides education when dealing directly with physicians, nurses and other clinical providers requesting them to complete or adjust pertinent parts of the health records, which are found to be inconsistent or incomplete upon analysis.
• Selects, compiles and trends medical, surgical and statistical data from numerous components of the health record.
• Retrieves diagnostic and statistical data for various reports required locally or by Central Office.
• Prepares training materials and participates in orientation and instructional activities as required.
• Advises management and hospital staff members on policies, procedures and adequacy of record content, and on training and teaching of clerical personnel in health record functions.
• Participates in various health record review activities.
• Assists the CHIM in identifying and setting short- and long-range goals, program objectives and tasks to meet the mission and vision of the medical center.
• Assists with planning, developing, directing and evaluating health information and other functions.
• Demonstrates skill in budgeting, contracting, procurement and property management.
• Designs and implements a program to measure compliance with documentation standards for all areas of the medical center including: inpatient, outpatient, home health, long term care, behavioral health, rehabilitation and fee basis.
• Aids in a variety of projects and is responsible for screening, abstracting and tallying data from records and computer-generated reports.
• Serve as a consultant to provide guidance and advise researchers on methods for gathering data.
• Assists in selected miscellaneous retrospective medical record review/data abstraction projects to support medical center Quality Management data collection activities.
• Advises staff in problem areas about quantitative and qualitative analysis of health records and determines acceptability of content.
• Consults with physicians and other clinicians regarding health record deficiencies as appropriate.
• Assists with the retrieval, review, analysis and reporting of HIM performance monitors and other medical record review topics.

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.

• 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.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: MRAs must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Experience or Education:
  • 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. OR
  • 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. OR
  • 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. OR
  • HIM Certification through AHIMA. OR
  • Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA.

How you will be evaluated

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

AREA OF CONSIDERATION - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

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.