This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/450479900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.
As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. Not only is it the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the Nation, but we also provide many other services to Veterans through the Benefits Administration and National Cemeteries. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities. For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs, go to http://www.vacareers.va.gov/
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
09/14/2017 to 10/03/2017
$49,535 - $64,661 per year
GS 08
1 vacancy in the following location:
Not required
No
Permanent - Excepted Service Permanent
Full-time - Full Time
No
BH-16-JS-1801419-BU
450479900
The Medical Record Technician/Coder is a staff position located under the Health Information Management section of the Business Office at the VA New Jersey Healthcare System (VA NJHCS). This position is responsible for maintaining the quality of patient records, assigning the appropriate International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), and/or International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) , International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-CM), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT-4), and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS codes).
Some duties of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:
-Researching and coding all assigned work based on established or stated priorities.
-Assigning diagnose and procedure codes based on knowledge of industry standard coding systems, including ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, CPT-4 and HCPCS.
-Ensuring that codes are complete and conform to accepted Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration regulations, Joint Commission (JC), ICD coding conventions, and guidelines for optimal reimbursement.
-Reviewing patient medical records to ensure that all medical conditions and procedures are properly documented by the clinician and sequences in order of importance.
-Insuring all documentation is present and in an appropriate format, sequenced, identified, and signed ensuring that documentation meets Joint Commission and Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Functional Statement Title/#: Medical Record Technician (Coder), 000000
Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting.There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, frequent keyboard usage, and carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.
Citizenship.
Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)
Preferred Experience:
Experience and Education
One year of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record. Six months of the required one year of experience must have provided the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform MRT work.
OR,
Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of 12 semester hours directly related to MRT work (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy & physiology, and introduction to health records).
OR,
Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and experience:
(a) Six months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record and one year above high school with a minimum of 6 semester hours of health information technology courses.
(b) 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 medical record techniques and procedures. Also requires six additional months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record.
Creditable Experience
Knowledge of Current Medical Record Technology. To be creditable, the candidate's experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current health information or health record technology and/or cancer registry practice and may be paid or non-paid employment.
Quality of Experience.
Experience is only creditable if it is either directly related to the position to be filled or in a related field. Qualifying experience must also be equivalent to the next lower grade level. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a MRT in the parenthetical title as described in subparagraph 3b(2) below.
Part-Time Experience.
Part-time experience as a professional medical record technician is credited according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, a medical record technician would receive 1 week of full-time credit for each 2 weeks of half-time work.
Specialized Areas for Medical Record Technicians
Medical Coders MRT coders analyze and abstract medical record data and assign codes using clinical classification systems. MRT coders may also provide education related to coding and documentation.
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.
Grade Determinations.
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
GS-8 MRT (Coder) Full Performance Level
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
1. Ability to analyze the medical record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for coding, and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation. This includes the ability to read and understand the content of the medical record, the terminology, the significance of the comments, and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient;
2. Ability to accurately perform the full scope of outpatient coding, including ambulatory surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and outpatient encounters, and/or inpatient coding, including inpatient discharges, surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and inpatient professional fees; and
3. Skill in interpreting and adapting health information guidelines and ability to use judgment in completing assignments using incomplete or inadequate guidelines.
References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G35 and http://vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005.docGS-8
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
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,
résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow
all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration
for employment.
Veterans' Preference:
When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for
5pt (TP), or 10pt (CP/CPS, XPP, XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP), on
the Occupational Questionnaire in the section(s) provided. A legible copy of
your DD214(s), disability certification, SF-15 (if claiming 10 pt. preference)
or if you are currently serving on active duty and expected to be released or
discharged within 120 days; documentation related to your active duty service
which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general,
etc.), or dates of impending separation. Documentation is required to award
preference. (See "Required Documents" section).
NOTE: The Professional Standards Board (a
peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments.
All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):
·Resume
Applicants may also submit the following supporting document type(s),which may not be required for all applicants:
VA Form 10-2850c - Application for Associated Health Occupations (required). (Available at the VA Forms Website: http://www.va.gov/vaforms/search_action.asp?FormNo=10-2850&tkey=&Action=Search)
Please use this checklist
to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.
Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents: You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online or unable to upload your supporting documents to your online application, follow the directions located at the following site: Fax Options. The Vacancy ID of the job opportunity announcement is 1801419.
NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203-FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.
VA New Jersey Health Care System Employees Only: If you cannot submit your application using one of the options listed above, you may personally submit by hand your application package to:
VA New Jersey Health Care SystemPLEASE DO NOT FAX OR MAIL ANY APPLICATION PACKAGES TO THE VA NJ HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (THESE PACKAGES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!)
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online.
To apply for this position, you must complete the View Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Sunday, October 08, 2017 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. During our review, if your résumé and application package do not support your questionnaire answers, we will adjust your rating accordingly. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email (if provided); otherwise, applicants will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USAJOBS account and clicking on "Application Status." For a more detailed update of your status, click on "more information." Information regarding applicant notification points can be found in the USAJobs Resource Center.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/450479900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) 1801419