For the GS-9 MRT (CDIS) -Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level of a MRT (Coder-inpatient);OR, An associate's degree or higher, and three years of experience in clinical documentation improvement (candidates must also have successfully completed coursework in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical coding, and introduction to health records);OR, Mastery level certification through AHIMA or AAPC, and two years of experience in clinical documentation improvement
NOTE: See paragraph 2g above for a detailed definition of mastery level certification. OR, Clinical experience such as RN, M.D., or DO, and one year of experience in clinical documentation improvement.(b) Certification. Employees at this level must have either a mastery level certification or a clinical documentation improvement certification. NOTE: See paragraph 2g and 2h for a detailed definition of mastery level certification and clinical documentation improvement certification.(c) Assignment. For all assignments above the journey level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Inpatient CDISs must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder-Inpatient). CDISs serve as the liaison between health information management and clinical staff. They are responsible for facilitating improved overall quality, education, completeness, and accuracy of health record documentation through extensive interaction with clinical, coding, and other associated staff to ensure clinical documentation supports services rendered to patients, appropriate workload is captured, and resources are properly allocated. They review documentation and facilitate modifications to the health record to ensure accurate severity of illness, risk of mortality, complexity of care, and utilization of resources. They identify opportunities for documentation improvement by ensuring that diagnoses and procedures are documented to the highest level of specificity. They recommend changes and/or update medical center policy pertaining to clinical documentation improvement. They serve as a technical expert in health record content and documentation requirements. They query clinical staff to clarify ambiguous, conflicting, or incomplete documentation. They review appropriateness of and responses to queries through review of query reports. They perform reviews of the health record documentation, developing criteria, collecting data, graphing and analyzing results, creating reports, and communicating orally and/or in writing to appropriate groups and leadership. They obtain appropriate corrective action plans from responsible clinical service directors and recommend improvements or changes in documentation practices, when applicable. They adhere to established documentation requirements as outlined by accrediting agencies guidelines, regulations, policies, and medical-legal requirements. They monitor trends in the industry and/or changes in regulations that could or should impact coding and documentation practices and identify who may require education. They are responsible for the development and implementation of active training/education programs (i.e., seminars, workshops, short courses, informational briefings, and conferences) for all clinical staff to ensure the CDIS program objectives are met. They provide training in small or large groups, educating clinical staff about current documentation standards and improvement techniques, including accurate and ethical documentation practices. They apply applicable coding conventions and guidelines to identify the principal and secondary diagnoses, and complete significant procedures to accurately reflect the patient's hospital course and DRG assignment in the inpatient setting(d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
- Knowledge of coding and documentation concepts, guidelines, and clinical terminology.
- Knowledge of anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology in order to interpret and analyze all information in a patient's health record, including laboratory and other test results, to identify opportunities for more precise and/or complete documentation in the health record.
- Ability to collect and analyze data and present results in various formats, which may include presenting reports to various organizational levels.
- Ability to establish and maintain strong verbal and written communication with providers.
- Knowledge of regulations that define healthcare documentation requirements, including The Joint Commission, CMS, and VA guidelines.
- Extensive knowledge of coding rules and regulations, to include current clinical classification systems such as ICD CM and PCS. They must also possess a knowledge of complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC), MS-DRG structure, and POA indicators.
- Knowledge of severity of illness, risk of mortality, and complexity of care.
- Knowledge of training methods and teaching skills sufficient to conduct continuing education for staff development. The training sessions may be technical in nature or may focus on teaching techniques for the improvement of clinical documentation issues.
References: VA Handbook 5005/122, Part II Appendix G57. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9.
Preferred Experience: 3-5 years of outpatient and inpatient coding experience.