The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. This includes developing and delivering virtual and digital technologies which help Veterans communicate synchronously and asynchronously with their health care teams and coordinate, track and manage their health care.

Duties

Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to: - preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment; - taking measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for the cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment while following all patient safety guidelines, protocols, and procedures; - completing standardized clinical questionnaires and templates within scope of training and applicable guidelines; - ensuring that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations; - receiving and scheduling requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter-facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system; - referring patients to providers for screening for Telehealth; - monitoring and maintaining schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations; - providing patient education via approved materials; - supporting the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys; - communicating effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care; - coordinating and. or directly configuring, installing, troubleshooting, inventory management, cleaning, and performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology; - providing education and training to Veterans, clinical staff and providers on the use of telehealth technologies and serving as a point of contact to answer questions and address concerns related to these technologies; - maintaining knowledge of and skill in applying an extensive body of rules, procedures, and operations in telehealth-related technologies and a variety of computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, document and report generation; - maintaining regular contact with other staff members and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; - arranging and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies; Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:30 am -4:00, Monday - Friday; 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Travel: 25% travel required to CBOCs Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required ****All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.**** Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

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. English Language Proficiency: A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Certification: None. 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). Experience and Education: Experience One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR Education Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR Experience/Education Combination Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field.(b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) (Advanced) Experience One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06). Examples of creditable experience at the GS-06 grade level include, but are not limited to, screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care. Communicates effectively with administrative and professional staff, and obtains assistance for issues that may arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Performs imaging duties in accordance with VHA National Telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images and/or data, obtains consent as necessary, generates consults according to established procedures for each telehealth specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention as appropriate, and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Facilitates real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a Licensed Independent Practitioner or Clinical Specialist. Schedules, confirms and coordinates Telehealth services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites. Analyzes own workflow to determine potential problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units/facilities. Maintains regular contact with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues. Conducts routine inventories and consistently tracks location/status of Telehealth technology located at assigned site. Communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary. Grade Determinations: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems. (b) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement. (c) Ability to function effectively between competing priorities. (d) Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment. (e) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. (f) Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning. (g) Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies. Assignment: At the Advanced Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) level, the incumbent will monitor and capture workload credit, develop reporting procedures and participate in performance improvement activities aimed at improving patient care access and Telehealth processes. This would include; sampling techniques, taking measurements at various points in the telehealth process; and develop and provide reporting procedures that identifies and analyzes inherent weaknesses in work and telehealth procedures. The incumbent will coordinate and work with Biomed and IT staff for the installation and upgrade of hardware and software for all telehealth technologies; will be responsible for advanced telehealth technical support to patients, staff and providers; provides technical consultation and support for staff and patients via phone, web chat, social media and face to face sessions; provides instruction, training and resources on the use of advanced telehealth technologies to patients, staff and providers alike for the delivery of care using telehealth technologies. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Preferred Experience: 1 year experience as Telehealth clinical technician, preceptor preferred but not required References: VA Handbook 5005/149, Part II Appendix G50. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: Physical requirements include but not limited to moderate lifting, 15-44lbs, moderate carrying, 15-44lbs, reaching above shoulders, walking and standing. ****All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.**** Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

Education

IMPORTANT: A legible 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/.

****All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.****

Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

Contacts

• Address Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center 1111 East End Boulevard Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 US
• Name: Katrina Paul
• Phone: (412) 822-3584
• Email: [email protected]