Job Description

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. The following are the requirements for appointment as a Medical Records Technician (MRT) (Coder) performing medical coding in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). 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. MRTs (Coder) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Experience and/or 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: 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) Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either 1, 2, or 3 below: 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 current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Creditable Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is directly related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, the candidate's experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current practice and must be paid or non-paid employment equivalent to a MRT (Coder). Quality of Experience. To be creditable, experience must be documented on the application or resume and verified in an employment reference or through other independent means. Grade Determinations: Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient) GS-08 Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. This experience may include, but is not limited to: select and assign codes from current versions of ICD CM, PCS, and/or CPT and HCPCS classification systems for inpatient facility and/or professional services. Review and record documentation to abstract all required medical, surgical, ancillary, demographic, social and administrative data, with minimal guidance from higher level MRTs (Coder). Review and abstract clinical data from the record for documentation of diagnoses and procedures to ensure it is adequate and appropriate to support the assigned codes. Review provider health record documentation to ensure that it supports the diagnostic and procedural codes assigned and is consistent with required medical coding nomenclature. Query clinical staff with documentation requ