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:
The following are the basic requirements for appointment as Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
1. Experience and Education.
(1) Experience.
One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician.
OR
(2) Education.
Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation.
OR
(3) Experience/Education Combination.
Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
NOTE: You must submit the required supporting documentation to receive consideration. Failure to provide the required documents will result in an ineligible rating and your application will be excluded from consideration.
(3) Certification. None
(4) Grandfathering Provision.
All Health Technicians (Telehealth Clinical) employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it.
5. Physical Standards.
The work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment or assisting patients. The work requires above average agility and dexterity. The incumbent may be required to travel between VA and/or Non-VA clinical care sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required.
6. English Language Proficiency.
All applicants must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
GRADE DETERMINATIONS.
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-7 (Advanced)
(1) Experience.
One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Applicants will need to show the knowledge, skills and abilities at the GS-06 level listed below.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA).
(a) Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks.
(b) Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education.
(c) Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction.
(d) Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments.(e) Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions.
(f) Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment.
(g) Skilled in the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters.
Assignment. Responsible for day-to-day operation of the Connected Care Services. Screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; communicating with administrative and professional staff, and obtains assistance for issues that arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Performs imaging duties in accordance with VHA national telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images, generate consult to established procedures for each specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Responsible for facilitation of real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a licensed independent Practitioner or clinical specialist; schedules, confirms and coordinates services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites; analyzes own work flow to determine problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units; has regular contact with the Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; responsible for conducting routine inventories and tracking location/status of technology located at assigned site; and communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment.
(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.
(a) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems.
(b) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement.
(c) Ability to function effectively between competing priorities.
(d) Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment.
(e) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work.
(f) Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning.
(g) Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies.
(3) Assignment.
Monitors and captures workload credit, develop reporting procedures and participate in performance improvement activities aimed at improving patient care access and processes. This includes; sampling techniques, taking measurements at various points in the process; and develop and provide reporting procedures that identifies and analyzes inherent weaknesses in work and telehealth procedures. Coordinate and work with Biomed and IT staff for the installation and upgrade of hardware and software for all telehealth technologies; responsible for advanced telehealth technical support to patients, staff and providers; provides technical consultation and support for staff and patients via phone, web chat, social media and face to face sessions; provides instruction, training and resources on the use of advanced telehealth technologies to patients, staff and providers alike for the delivery of care using telehealth technologies.
Preferred Experience:
(1) Recent 3 years of Outpatient experience as a Health Technician or Medical Assistant.
(2) Coordinating clinic set up and monitoring of workload capture and issues for assigned patient and provider clinics.
(3) Participating in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency.
(4) Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment;
(5) Communicating effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care;
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).
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-07.