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.
- Experience and Education
- 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 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 (6) months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, general understanding of medical coding and the health record, and one (1) year above high school, with a minimum of six (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. 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.
- English Language Proficiency. MRTs (Coder) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met.
GS-04:
Experience or Education. None beyond basic requirements.
GS-05:
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level;
OR,
Education. Successful completion of four years of education above high school leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university 6 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.
For full qualification standard please reference the VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G57, Medical Record Technician Qualification Standard below.
GS-06:
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
For full qualification standard please reference the VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G57, Medical Record Technician Qualification Standard below.
GS-07:
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
For full qualification standard please reference the VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G57, Medical Record Technician Qualification Standard below.
GS-08:
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
For full qualification standard please reference the VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G57, Medical Record Technician Qualification Standard below.
Additionally, you will be rated on the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): Please make sure that each is addressed in your application package. Please refer to Appendix G57 for KSA's in the reference below.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G57, Medical Records Technician (Coder) Qualification Standard.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-8.
Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, records, or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.