Medical Records Technician; Coder-Outpatient and Inpatient

Summary

This position is in the Health Information Management Service (HIMS) within the Business Office at the VA New Jersey Healthcare System located at either the East Orange or Lyons Campus. New Jersey Healthcare System is a Level 2 facility and ranks among a complex system in the Department of Veteran Affairs serving the New York/New Jersey VISN 2 Network.

• 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(1) 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 - (2) 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 - (3) Completion of an AHIMA approved coding program – or other intensive 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
  - 4) 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:(a) 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
• (b) 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 an MRT (Coder)
• 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
• 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)
• Grade Determinations: GS‑5 Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level; OR – (b) 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
• KSA
• In addition to the experience above – the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i) Ability to use health information technology and various office software products used in MRT (Coder) positions (e.g. the electronic health record, coding and abstracting software – etc.)
• ii)…