The Medical Record Technician (MRT) (Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist (CDIS) Inpatient) position is located in the Health Information Management Section (HIMS) of the Health Administration Section at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. MRT CDISs must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder-Inpatient). MRT CDISs serve as the liaison between health information management and clinical staff.

Duties

If you are a current permanent VA employee or Federal employee from another Federal agency, you should apply under CBST-12081432-23-TC Major duties include, but are not limited to: Reviews the overall quality and completeness of clinical documentation. Inpatient CDI focuses on the concurrent review of patient records with an emphasis on improving documentation while the patient is still in-house. Adheres to accepted coding practices, guidelines and conventions when choosing the most appropriate diagnosis, operation, procedure, ancillary, or evaluation and management (E/M) code to ensure ethical, accurate, and complete coding. Reviews VERA input on missed opportunities in provider documentation identified by the VERA coordinator and coordinate provider documentation education with the VERA coordinator. Ensures documentation supports codes based on guidelines specific to certain diagnoses, procedures, and other criteria used to classify patients under the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) program that categorizes all VA patients into specific classes representing their clinical conditions and resource needs. Monitors ever-changing regulatory and policy requirements affecting coded information for the full spectrum of services provided by the VAMC. Timely compliance with coding changes is crucial to the accuracy of the facility database as well as all cost recovery programs. Assists facility staff with documentation requirements to completely and accurately reflect the patient care provided; provides technical support in the areas of regulations and policy, coding requirements, resident supervision, reimbursement, workload, accepted nomenclature, and proper sequencing. Ensures provider documentation is complete and supports the diagnoses and procedures coded. Directly consults with the professional staff for clarification of conflicting or ambiguous clinical data. Reports incorrect documentation or codes in the electronic patient health record. Develops and conducts seminars, workshops, short courses, informational briefings, and conferences concerned with health record documentation, educational and functional training requirements to ensure program objectives are met for clinical and Health Information Management (HIM) staff. Ensures active intra-departmental training program is in place for the HIM staff. Determines and meets training needs of extra-departmental professional, para-professional and non-professional personnel by originating training material, providing orientation to newly assigned interns and residents and participates in in-service programs conducted throughout the hospital. Ensures the accuracy and completeness of clinical information used for measuring and reporting physician and medical center outcomes with continuing education to all members of the patient care team on an ongoing basis. Identifies trends and/or opportunities to improve clinical documentation. Collaboratively works with the professional clinical staff and provides support and education on documentation issues. Assists in the development of guidelines for data compatibility, consistency, and monitoring for compliance to improve the quality for clinical, financial, and administrative data to ensure that all information is fully documented and supported. Such efforts are conducted to ensure the accuracy of billing denials and prevention against fraud and abuse and to optimize the medical center's authorized reimbursement for utilization of resources provided. As a technical expert in health record documentation matters, provides advice and guidance in relation to issues such as documentation requirements, liability issues, advance directives, informed consent, patient privacy and confidentiality, state reporting, etc. Analyzes situations or processes and recommends improvements or changes in documentation as deemed necessary. May assist in writing coding protocol/policies which will reflect the required changes to enhance revenue through improved documentation. Participates in clinical rounds and may, where appropriate, offer information on documentation, coding rules and reimbursement issues. The documentation specialist is a member of the healthcare team, and as such, shall assist all clinical providers with ICD, CPT and DRG methodologies so that documentation will more accurately reflect the occurrence of the encounter. Maintains statistical database(s) to track the results and validate the program for identifying patterns and variations in coding practices with regular reports to the medical staff and management. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm, or 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 1. United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g. 2. Experience and Education. (A) 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. You must demonstrate the experience on your resume with hours worked per week to receive credit. OR (B) 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); You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) showing award of associate's degree to receive credit. OR (C) 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; You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) showing award of certificate or completion of program to receive credit. OR (D) 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:(i) Six months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical 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. You must demonstrate the experience on your resume with hours worked per week to receive credit AND submit a copy of your transcript(s) showing completion of one year of course with 6 semester hours of health information technology courses to receive credit. (ii)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). You must demonstrate the experience on your resume with hours worked per week to receive credit AND submit a copy of your transcript(s) showing 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 to receive credit. 3. Certification. You must submit a copy of your certificate from AHIMA or AAPC to receive credit. 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. 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. 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. Current Clinical Documentation Improvement Certifications include: Clinical Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP) and Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS). 4. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f). See Education section for Grade Determination and continued Qualification information.

Education

GRADE DETERMINATION.
In addition to meeting the above Basic Requirements, you must also meet the Grade Determination criteria below:

Medical Records Technician (Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist (CDIS-Inpatient)), GS-09
(a) Experience. Candidates must have:
One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level of a MRT (Coder-Inpatient); To receive credit, you must demonstrate work experience through job duties and list hours worked per week for all jobs listed in your resume.
OR,
An associate's degree or higher, and three years of experience in clinical documentation improvement (candidates must also have successfully completed coursework in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical coding, and introduction to health records); You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) showing award of associate's degree to receive credit AND you must demonstrate work experience through job duties and list hours worked per week for all jobs listed in your resume.
OR,
Mastery level certification through AHIMA or AAPC and two years of experience in clinical documentation improvement; You must submit an unexpired copy of your certificate from AHIMA or AAPC AND you must demonstrate work experience through job duties and list hours worked per week for all jobs listed in your resume to receive credit.
NOTE: 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).
OR,
Clinical experience such as RN, M.D., or DO, and one year of experience in clinical documentation improvement. To receive credit, you must demonstrate work experience through job duties and list hours worked per week for all jobs listed in your resume.
(b) Certification. Employees at this level must have either a mastery level certification or a clinical documentation improvement certification. You must submit an unexpired copy of your certificate from AHIMA or AAPC to receive credit.
NOTE: 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).
Current Clinical Documentation Improvement Certifications include: Clinical Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP) and Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS).
(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the requirements above, candidates must demonstrate all the following KSAs in their resumes:

1. Knowledge of coding and documentation concepts, guidelines, and clinical terminology.
2. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology in order to interpret and analyze all information in a patient's health record, including laboratory and other test results, to identify opportunities for more precise and/or complete documentation in the health record.
3. Ability to collect and analyze data and present results in various formats, which may include presenting reports to various organizational levels.
4. Ability to establish and maintain strong verbal and written communication with providers.
5. Knowledge of regulations that define healthcare documentation requirements, including The Joint Commission, CMS, and VA guidelines.
6. Extensive knowledge of coding rules and regulations, to include current clinical classification systems such as ICD CM and PCS. They must also possess a knowledge of complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC), MS-DRG structure, and POA indicators.
7. Knowledge of severity of illness, risk of mortality, and complexity of care.
8. Knowledge of training methods and teaching skills sufficient to conduct continuing education for staff development. The training sessions may be technical in nature or may focus on teaching techniques for the improvement of clinical documentation issues.

Preferred Experience:

• Clinical knowledge (anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology)
• Applied knowledge of documentation impact on reimbursement to include VERA funding through the Allocation Resource Center (ARC) and third party payer requirement

References: VA Handbook 5005/122, Part II Appendix G77, Medical Records Technician (Coder), Qualification Standard dated December 10, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09.

Physical Requirements: Must be compliant with the following physical standards and environmental factors: Light lifting of 15 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; Both hands are required; and Working closely with others.

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Timothy Countryman
• Phone: 303-330-7566
• Email: [email protected]