This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Colmery-O'Neil 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.

Duties

EKHCS is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans. Depending on grade level, duties may include and are not limited to: Selects and assigns codes from the current versions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Clinical Modification (CM) and Procedure Coding System (PCS) for inpatient facility MS-DRG coding, and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and/or Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) for inpatient professional coding and outpatient coding. 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. Also adheres to the coding guidelines specific to the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) program that categorizes all VA patients into specific classes representing their clinical conditions and resource needs. Reviews health record documentation to abstract all required medical, surgical, ancillary, demographic, social, and administrative data. Patient health records may be paper or electronic. Assists facility staff with basic documentation requirements to reflect the patient care provided; provides support in the areas of regulations and policy, coding requirements, resident supervision, reimbursement, accepted nomenclature, and proper sequencing. Insures provider documentation supports the diagnoses and procedures coded. To ensure accurate coding may directly consult with the professional staff when conflicting or ambiguous clinical documentation is encountered. Utilizes the facility computer system and software applications to code, abstract, record, and transmit data to the national VA database in Austin. Corrects any identified data errors or inconsistencies in a timely manner to ensure acceptance in the national VA database within established timelines. Researches references to resolve any questionable code errors; contacts supervisor when needed. Uses a variety of computer applications in day to day activities and duties, such as Outlook, Excel, Word, and Access; competent in use of the health record applications (VistA and CPRS) as well as the encoder product suite. Orients and instructs new personnel and/or students from affiliated health information or medical record technology programs, at the direction of the supervisor, on unit operations, coding, abstracting, and use of an electronic health record. Works within a team environment; supports peers in meeting goals and deadlines; flexible and handles multiple tasks; works under pressure; and copes with frequently changing projects and deadlines. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 4:30PM Telework: Ad-Hoc 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

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. Grade Determinations: GS-04 Basic Education and/or Experience Requirements: Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of a health records; OR 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); 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: 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. 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). GS-05 Basic Education and/or Experience Requirements: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of a health records; OR Education. Successful completion of a bachelor'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 management or a related degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours in health information management or technology. In addition to the experience above, the employee must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to use health information technology and software products used in MRT (Coder) positions (e.g., the electronic health record, coding and abstracting software, etc.); Ability to navigate through and abstract pertinent information from health records; Knowledge of the ICD CM, PCS Official Conventions and Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, and CPT guidelines; Ability to apply knowledge of medical terminology, human anatomy/physiology, and disease processes to accurately assign codes to inpatient and outpatient episodes of care based on health record documentation; Ability to manage priorities and coordinate work, in order to complete duties within required timeframes, and the ability to follow-up on pending issues. GS-06: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. In addition to the experience above, the employee must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for coding and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation; Ability to apply laws and regulations on the confidentiality of health information (e.g., Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, and HIPAA); Ability to accurately apply the ICD CM, PCS Official Conventions and Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, and CPT Guidelines to various coding scenarios; Comprehensive knowledge of current classification systems, such as ICD CM, PCS, CPT, HCPCS, and skill in applying classifications to both inpatient and outpatient records based on health record documentation; and Knowledge of complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC) and POA indicators to obtain correct MS-DRG. GS-07: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. In addition to the experience above, the employee must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in applying current coding classifications to a variety of inpatient and outpatient specialty care areas to accurately reflect service and care provided based on documentation in the health record; Ability to research and solve coding and documentation related issues; Skill in reviewing and correcting system or processing errors and ensuring all assigned work is complete; and Ability to abstract, assign, and sequence codes, including complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC), and POA indicators to obtain correct MS-DRG. GS-08: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. GS-08 Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the employee must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to analyze the health 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 health record, the terminology, the significance of the comments, and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient; Ability to accurately perform the full scope of outpatient coding, including ambulatory surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and outpatient encounters, and inpatient facility coding, including inpatient discharges, surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and inpatient professional services; Skill in interpreting and adapting health information guidelines that are not completely applicable to the work, or have gaps in specificity, and the ability to use judgment in completing assignments using incomplete or inadequate guidelines. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-04 to GS-08. Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either (1), (2), or (3) below: Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G57. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System 2200 SW Gage Blvd Topeka, KS 66622 US
• Name: Randy Pass
• Phone: 913-682-2000 X62503
• Email: [email protected]