The Health System Specialist Solution Expert is located in the Office of the Functional Champion, Chief Nursing Informatics Office for the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, within the Office of the Deputy Secretary of VA. EHRM-IO brings informatics, technical and analytics expertise from various disciplines to improve coordination, communication, standardization, and oversight of the implementation of VA's new electronic health record.

Duties

Highly skilled and experienced informaticist who supports national health care management officials by analyzing, evaluating, advising on, and coordinating health care delivery systems and operations in relation to VA's new EHR development and implementation. Translates clinical and business needs from stakeholders into technical EHR requirements in collaboration with commercial solution architects and relays technical processes and issues to stakeholders. Provide assessments and recommendations for proposed changes to functional requirements; and helps support change management by analyzing, interpreting, and cross-walking discrepancies of functional requirements of workflows. Maintains commercial EHR solutions for the organization; Functions as an expert in the intricate detail of the commercial solutions and agency clinical workflows, policy, culture and existing legacy applications. Manages the improvement of multiple specialized clinical business processes and workflows through the implementation and operations of VA's new Electronic Health Record. Manages the development of new, innovative, and cutting-edge clinical workflow best practice processes, directly impacting the efficiencies of clinical process improvements, within network of veteran care providers. Uses expert knowledge of organizational structure and health care standards to resolve conflicts in policies and program guidance. Uses knowledge of marketing research and business process re-engineering (BPR) methodologies, analysis, theory, and application and strong communication, interpersonal, and negotiating skills to facilitate business planning meetings. Advises national EHR councils and provides recommendations and solutions for maximizing efficiencies and clinical workflows as well as policy implications and discrepancies. Establishes effective relationships, communicates effectively orally and in writing, with a diverse group of end users, subject matter experts, and technical staff, with the goal of advancing VA's EHR implementation and sustainment. Develops and encourages participative project management policies and procedures and plans which minimize change resistance. Prepares correspondence, information/decision papers, and staff studies/course of action analysis. Coordinates with deployment teams and facilities during implementation. Represents the perspective of the clinical and business operations care teams during implementation and supports the VA and VHA mission throughout the implementation process. Manages functional testing to assure that configurations are effective, coordinated and implemented as determined by the EHR councils. Review and assist in adjudicating change requests from sites and national councils for potential configuration changes and/or process workflow changes and advises stakeholders on options, technical feasibility, and other impacts for consideration. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST Compressed/Flexible: May Be Authorized Telework/Virtual: This position may be filled at the facility where the position is located (VA Central Office, Washington, DC) or in person - telework authorized (i.e., the employee may work at a VA facility or other VA-leased space other than the facility that is hiring the employee) and is authorized for telework up to 50%. VA supports the use of telework and filling virtually to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. Telework eligibility and potential duty location may be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Solutions Expert/PD20175A and PD20176A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/14/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade also applies to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. This series requires an IOR (Individual Occupational Requirement) : Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: *Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; *Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and *Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR Special Provision for In-service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included:Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a special qualification without which a candidate could not perform the duties of a position in a satisfactory manner. Selective factors are applied in addition to minimum qualifications. Applicants who do not meet a selective factor are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The Selective Placement Factor for this position: Demonstrated informatics and project management skills and a comprehensive knowledge of VA technical and operational processes of clinical/business workflows, as related to health care delivery systems. Experience delivering recommendations regarding informatics configuration and design related to Electronic Health Records (EHR) to healthcare leaders and informatics/analytics practitioners. Quality Ranking Factor: This position includes abilities/competencies that could significantly enhance performance in a position, but are not essential for satisfactory performance. Applicants who possess such abilities may be ranked above those who do not, but will not be rated ineligible solely for failure to possess such abilities. Quality Ranking Factor for this position: Ability to synthesize clinical and business needs of the health care system into technical requirements and communicates technical processes and issues back to key health care management officials. (Must clearly demonstrated in application). In addition to meeting the IOR and selective placement factors, candidates must also meet the grade level requirements as outlined below. Specialized Experience Requirement: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. (GS-12 for the GS-13 level and GS-13 for the GS-14 level) Specialized experience at the GS-13 level is defined as work that involves a working knowledge of hardware, software, operating systems in the health care delivery system industry; Experience analyzing and configuring efficient information solutions; Professional knowledge of legacy information systems and applications; Proficient knowledge and experience in healthcare operations workflows in one or more areas, including:1)Prosthetics, 2)Social Work, 3)Research, 4)Supply Chain, 5)Ambulatory Referrals/Integrated Patient Care, 7)Pathology and Laboratory; Broad knowledge and skill in the use of analytical and evaluative tools and methodology sufficient to analyze and evaluate effectiveness of clinical informatics solutions; Advanced experience in conducting complex planning and evaluation of Agency projects; Expertise in providing authoritative program advice to Agency leadership and management personnel. Specialized experience at the GS-14 level is defined as work that involves advanced analytical experience in Electronic Health Records (EHR) solutions and impacts, including mastery of clinical workflows such as nursing, direct patient care, and emergency departments. Professional experience analyzing, developing and implementing Agency and Department policies and regulations; Proficient skill in the use of analytical tools used to evaluate effectiveness of clinical informatics solutions; Expert knowledge of strategic management of resources throughout lifecycles to ensure high performance, greater public accountability, quality service and customer satisfaction. Expert knowledge, experience, and expertise in healthcare operations workflows in one or more areas, including: 1)Prosthetics, 2)Social Work, 3)Research, 4)Supply Chain, 5)Ambulatory Referrals/Integrated Patient Care, 6)Dental, 7)Pathology and Laboratory. Expert knowledge of modern technology and complex operational interfaces sufficient to provide oversite VA wide. Comprehensive technical knowledge of methods used in an integrated health care delivery system environment. Thorough knowledge of Agency databases and their interrelationships to support the ongoing development and enhancement of Agency informatics environment. 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.


You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Change Management
• Communication
• Operations Support
• Technical Competence

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Contacts

• Address Electronic Health Record Modernization - Integration Office 811 Vermont Avenue NW 2nd Floor 00EHR Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]