This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) Section of the Business Office Service at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center. Medical Records Administrators (MRAs) in VHA perform or supervise work concerned with the management of a health record program or the provision of services related to medical record administration/health information services.
Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Must be a citizen of the United States Education or Experience: Experience. Three years of creditable experience in the field of medical records that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of health records and health information systems demonstrating a knowledge of medical terminology, medical records procedures, medical coding, or medical, administrative, and legal requirements of health care delivery systems. OR, Education. Successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher 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 health information technology. OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education that equals 100 percent may be used to meet basic requirements. For example, two years above high school from an accredited college or university, with 12 semester hours in health information technology/health information management, plus one year and six months of creditable experience that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of health records and health information systems meets an equivalent combination] Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRA positions in the GS-0669 series in VHA must meet one of the following: Coding Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. OR, Health information managers (HIM) Certification through AHIMA. OR, Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA. NOTE. HIMs Certification is required for all positions above the full performance level. Loss of Credential. Following initial certification, credentials must be maintained through rigorous continuing education, ensuring the highest level of competency for employers and patients. 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. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies, if a placement opportunity exists. Grandfathering Provision: All persons employed in VHA as an MRA are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, including positive education, and registration and/or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed], the following provisions apply: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to, and including, the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the (journeyman) level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who were appointed on a temporary basis, prior to the effective date of the qualification standard, may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/registration/certification and meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. MRAs who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry, as a medical records administrator. Medical Records Administrator (Chief (CHIM)), GS-13 Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrates the KSAs described at that level. AND Certification: Employees at this level must have a HIM Certification Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Ability to determine and evaluate compliance with legal, ethical and regulatory guidelines and accrediting bodies, as they apply to health information management. Ability to provide sound, technical guidance to staff at various levels about major program, legal, or procedural changes related to health information management. Skill in revising facility policies and] procedures to improve health information management services and to evaluate, modify, and/or adapt new methods to meet regulatory requirements. Skill in analyzing complex data, interpreting and trending results for effective management of the HIM program. Skill in management/administration, which includes program planning, coordination, interpretation, supervision, consultation, negotiation, problem solving, and monitoring of HIM processes. Ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, accomplish program goals, and adapt to changing priorities. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: According to VA Directive and handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
Serves as Chief of Health Information Management (CHIM) with full program responsibility for all facets of the Health Information Management (HIM) program and processes. Must ensure HIM program meets and/or exceed national HIM policies, procedures, and performance metrics. Responsible for the administrative management of health records, which includes planning, managing, advising, and directing the health information program in accordance with applicable Federal laws, facility by-laws, VHA policy, The Joint Commission (TJC) standards, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and other regulatory and accrediting agency standards. Creates and monitors systems to ensure accurate, timely, and complete health records, in accordance with VHA policy and TJC health information protocols. Measures ongoing intradepartmental performance by establishing priorities, collecting data, monitoring and reporting outcomes, using valid and reliable techniques to analyze trends and variation, and taking appropriate action based on findings. Responsible for all facets of health records management for the facility ensuring maintenance of complete, accurate, timely, clinically pertinent, and readily-accessible patient health records, which contain sufficient recorded information to serve as a basis to plan patient care, support diagnoses, warrant treatment, measure outcomes, support education and facilitate performance improvement processes and legal requirements. Develops policies, processes, and procedures that address all VA, Federal, regulatory, and accrediting requirements for HIM. Evaluates health records program and independently determines the nature and extent of problem areas. Develops recommendations and solutions for program improvement. Develops and implements innovative solutions to correct technical, complex problems. Must provide detailed technical expertise in health records science and other very technical aspects of HIM. Maintains all health information input into the local VistA database and assures timely transmission of that data into all VA centralized databases - most frequently those maintained at the Austin Data Processing Center and that all health information that is coded and abstracted meets the requirements of the VA and/or TJC and is consistent with professional health records standards. Serves as key advisor to the Chief of Staff, Executive Management, and clinicians and is responsible for providing technical guidance on health information issues such as documentation requirements, liability issues, advance directives, informed consent, release of information, transcription/speech recognition, health information exchange, etc. Recommends improvements in health record documentation used to provide patient care, to optimize VERA workload, third party reimbursement and to manage resources. Completes internal quality assurance reviews to ensure employee performance and that work meets quality and quantity standards. Establishes monitors to ensure the timeliness of health record entries and reports findings with subsequent trending of data. Provides management officials with health record review results and trends on an ongoing basis. Monitors and reports delinquent records by number, type of deficiencies and responsible provider. Serves as a resource for patient data on both patient-specific and aggregate databases. Represents Business Office and acts as subject matter expert at the facility-wide Health Records Committee - in this capacity, the incumbent advises the committee on health record issues, including VA requirements, TJC standards, record retrieval processes, health record components, systems, goals, electronic records, etc. Serves as a key member of the Quality Improvement (QI) team, works closely with QI personnel, and is responsible for assuring that the facility is compliant with all TJC standards regarding health information. Responsible for assuring that all patients have a complete, accurate, and timely record of their health care at the facility and must assure that such information is appropriately stored and readily available for the provision of medical services to the patients. Responsible for leading the automation of all health information systems, working closely with Information Technology (IT) and Clinical Informatics - must guide the automation of health record documentation, health record tracking, and physician incomplete record tracking. Must support the information security program and manage much of the patient information database within VistA. Incumbent will work with a variety of hardware and software. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 540930