Medical Records Technician; Coder Inpatient​/Outpatient

Overview

MRTs 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 alphanumeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure.

Please note:

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. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until June 22, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be February 22, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 22nd of each month.

Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

• 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
• MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - Section A - paragraph 3
• AND:
  Experience and Education-Documentation Submitted One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology - anatomy - physiology - pathophysiology - medical coding - and the structure and format of a health records
• OR - 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 - 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)
• Please select the proper response for your experience and/or education
• Certification
• Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either:
  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…