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Summary The Business Office is seeking a full-time Medical Records Technician (Coder) Auditor (Inpatient) for the VA Medical Center in Birmingham Alabama. Responsibilities The Medical Records Technician (Coder) Auditor is responsible for coding a yearly average of 6,800 plus patient discharges as well as all required third party billable episodes of care from and average of 752,470 plus annual outpatient visits. The duties may include but are not limited to the following: Performs quality reviews on the outpatient coders for performance and to ensure the accuracy of the VA Birmingham database. Ensures that the National Encounter Forms have been updated and loaded timely. Responsible for providing ongoing training and education to providers on electronic encounter forms, progress note documentation requirements, workload capture, VERA, SAIL, vesting versus non-vesting, Evaluation and Management, and the problem list. Provides coding outpatient workload trends end their impact in the various future resources of the Medical Center. Assigning, planning and evaluating the outpatient coder work. Provides ongoing education and training to all new medical record technicians and to administrative and clinical staff regarding coding guidelines. Formulates and issues written instructions and procedures and special instructions for non­ routine or complex assignments to clarify published guidelines. Responsible for developing procedures systems for establishing, operating and assessing the effectiveness of administrative control systems and line or operating programs for all assignments. Performs code searches, reviews notes and advises clinical providers on documentation revisions needed to correct the patient's medical record and coding. Responsible for training employees on how to retrieve information from the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and Text Integrated Utility (TIU) and the VISTA Imaging System in order to abstract pertinent data for coding purposes. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is a virtual position. Functional Statement #: FS342 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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. Candidates 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 are not proficient in written and spoken English. Experience. 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, 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 December 10, 2019 VA Handbook 5005/122 PART II APPENDIX G57 II-G57-3 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, 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 a MRT (Coder). Certification Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. (This must be a copy of the actual certificate with the expiration date or a copy of the certificate with a screen shot of the credential verification page from AAPC. Membership cards will not be considered.) 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-9 One year of creditable experience (GS-08 level) as a Medical Records Technician (Coder) in a clinical setting which required either Mastery level certification or Clinical Documentation Improvement certification, and required an assigned specialty such as Clinical Document Improvement Specialist (CDIS) specializing in Inpatient, Outpatient, or both; Auditor; or Lead Medical Records Technician (Coder) assignments (or private sector equivalent); AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities as follows: Advanced knowledge of current coding classification systems such as ICD, CPT, and HCPCS for the subspecialty being assigned (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined). Ability to research and solve complex questions related to coding conventions and guidelines in an accurate and timely manner. Ability to review coded data and supporting documentation to identify adherence to applicable standards, coding conventions and guidelines, and documentation requirements. Ability to format and present audit results, identify trends, and provide guidance to improve accuracy. Skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with individuals at all organizational levels. References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G57 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9. Physical Requirements: The position is basically sedentary involving little physical effort. Education IMPORTANT: A 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/. Additional Information During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.