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. 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. Must be proficient in spoken and written English. 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. GS-07 MRT (Coder) (a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Skill in applying current coding classifications to a variety of specialty care areas for outpatient episodes of care and/or inpatient professional services to accurately reflect service and care provided based on documentation in the health record. Ability to communicate with clinical staff for specific coding and documentation issues, such as recording diagnoses and procedures, ensuring the correct sequencing of diagnoses and/or procedures, and verifying the relationship between health record documentation and coder assignment. Ability to research and solve coding and documentation related issues. iv. Skill in reviewing and correcting system or processing errors and ensuring all assigned work is complete. GS-08 MRT (Coder) (a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for coding and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation. This includes the ability to read and understand the content of the health record, the terminology, the significance of the findings, and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient. Ability to accurately perform the full scope of outpatient coding, including ambulatory surgical cases, diagnostic studies and procedures, and outpatient encounters, and/or inpatient professional fee services coding. 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). References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/79, PART II APPENDIX G35The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-07 to GS-08. Physical Requirements: Review VA HANDBOOK 5005/79