LEAD MEDICAL RECORDS TECHNICIAN

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. Experience and Education Experience. One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of 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. 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. Certification. 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. (2) Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. (3) Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS. NOTE: Mastery level certification is required for all positions above the journey level; however, for clinical documentation improvement specialist assignments, a clinical documentation improvement certification may be substituted for a mastery level certification. Loss of Credential. Following initial certification, credentials must be maintained through rigorous continuing education, ensuring the highest level of competency for employers and consumers. An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. English Language Proficiency. MRTs (Coder) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). GRADE DETERMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS. Lead Medical Records Technician (Coder), GS-9 (a) Lead coder assignments can be established for any of the coder subspecialties (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined). The subspecialty will be reflected in the title, e.g., Lead MRT (Coder-Outpatient). (b) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level of a MRT (Coder) and Mastery level certification through AHIMA or AAPC. (c) Certification. Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification. (d) Assignment. 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. Lead MRTs (Coder) must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder). Lead MRTs (Coder) review coding and assist MRTs (Coder) in ensuring timeliness and improving coding accuracy; provide coding guidance to various levels of staff to promote consistency in practice and compliance with coding rules and regulations; initiate, prepare, and maintain various reports, and analyze data; and may also coordinate, assign, and monitor workflow. They provide input for performance evaluations and hiring. They orient and instruct new coding personnel and/or students on coding, abstracting, and use of the electronic health record and encoder software. They ensure audit findings and claim denials related to coding errors are resolved and/or daily coding rejects corrected for accurate billing and data collection. They monitor trends and/or changes in regulatory and policy requirements affecting coding practices and identify educational needs. They develop coding training materials and present a curriculum encompassing ongoing training initiatives. They provide assistance with coding inquiries from providers, MRTs (Coder), billers, and other facility staff. Lead MRTs whose assignments involve two or more MRT specialty areas will be assigned the parenthetical title for the predominant specialty area. Lead MRTs (Coder) may be at a facility or in a consolidated coding unit (CCU). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i. Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize, and coordinate activities in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment, such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, etc. ii. Advanced knowledge of current coding classification systems for the subspecialty being assigned (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined) and the ability to research and solve complex questions related to coding conventions and guidelines in an accurate and timely manner iii. Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. iv. Knowledge of training methods and the ability to provide training to new coding staff. v. Ability to collect and analyze data and present results in various formats, which may include presenting reports to various organizational levels. vi. Leadership skills, including interpersonal relations and conflict resolution between employees, managers, and clinical staff. 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). Preferred Experience: Outpatient coder Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 9. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range to 9. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Durham VA Healthcare System. 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.