This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Robley Rex VA Medical Center. MRTs (Coder) are skilled in classifying medical data from patient health records in the hospital setting, and/or physician-based settings, such as physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, and specialty centers.

Duties

This job opportunity announcement (JOA) will be used to fill one (1) full-time and permanent Supervisory Medical Records Technician (Coder) vacancy at the Louisville, KY Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), with Business Office Service. This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Robley Rex VA Medical Center. MRTs (Coder) are skilled in classifying medical data from patient health records in the hospital setting, and/or physician-based settings, such as physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, and specialty centers. These coding practitioners 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. For all assignments above the journey level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Supervisory MRTs (Coder)are responsible for supervising coding staff at the facility level. Supervisory MRTs (Coder) must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder). The supervisory coder is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, and direction of coding staff. They are responsible for program management of a coding section/unit to ensure performance monitors are established and met. They perform a full range of supervisory responsibilities, to include evaluating the performance of subordinate staff, approving sick and annual leave requests, identifying educational or training needs, resolving employee complaints, and taking disciplinary actions, when necessary. They inform higher level management of anticipated vacancies or increases in workload. They recommend employees for promotions, reassignments, recognitions, retention or release of probationary employees, or other changes of assigned personnel. They make decisions on the selection of employees for vacant or new positions. They serve as an expert coding resource to ensure accuracy and integrity of all coding. They collaborate with revenue, compliance, and other departments to support coding accuracy that is consistent with the official guidelines for coding and reporting. They resolve claim edits referred to coding management and monitor reports for outstanding services, rejects, or un-coded episodes of care for inpatients and/or outpatients. The supervisory coder ensures claim denials related to coding errors are resolved, and/or daily coding rejects are corrected for accurate billing and data collection. They provide education to clinical and coding staff. They assess current audit findings and evaluate impact to coding and documentation practices. They oversee the reporting of coding and documentation audit results to leadership. They collect and prepare data for studies involving inpatient stays and outpatient encounters for clinical evaluation purposes, prepare and maintain a variety of complex records and daily, monthly, or "on demand" reports, as requested. The supervisory coder creates and monitors outpatient reports, inpatient case mix reports, top DRGs, and key performance indicators to identify patterns, trends, and variations. They investigate and evaluate potential causes for changes or problems and collaborate with the appropriate staff to effect resolution or explain variances. They participate in the formulation of objectives and strategies utilizing coded data to support goals for patient care, teaching, research, and optimizing management of resources. Supervisory MRTs whose assignments involve two or more MRT specialty areas will be assigned the parenthetical title for the predominant specialty area. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday with various eight hours work scheduled between 6:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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: 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 An Associate's degree from an accredited college or university with a major field of study in health information technology/health information management, or related degree with a minimum of 12 semester hours in health information technology/health information management (e.g. 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: (a)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. (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 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-0675series in VHA must have either (1), (2), or (3) below:(1)Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.(2)Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.(3)Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. English Language Proficiency. MRTs (Coder) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). In addition to the basic requirements, the below qualification requirements must be met at the grade(s) in which you are applying. Grade Determinations: GS-10 Supervisory Medical Records Technician Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Creditable Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is directly related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, the candidate's experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current practice and must be paid or non-paid employment equivalent to a MRT (Coder). Quality of Experience. To be creditable, experience must be documented on the application or resume and verified in an employment reference or through other independent means. Certification. Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification. Mastery Level Certification. 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). References: VA Handbook 5005/122, Part II, Appendix G57 dated 12/10/2019. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. There is walking, bending and reaching required such as for filing or locating material, and carrying items such as reports, documents, and supplies. Entering data and word processing on a personal computer may result in physical problems from the effects of repetitive motion and eyestrain. A portion of each day is spent in the laboratory, sorting and preparing samples for testing, which involves periods of standing.

Education

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 Robley Rex VA Medical Center 800 Zorn Avenue Louisville, KY 40206 US
• Name: David Mason
• Phone: 304-669-0978
• Email: [email protected]