Medical Records Technician (Inpatient Coder)

Summary This position is eligible for remote work and is currently operating under an extension of the Return-to-Office (RTO) mandate. Please note that remote work eligibility is reviewed on an ongoing basis and does not imply a permanent remote work status until an exemption is approved. Employees in this role may be required to comply with future RTO requirements as determined by agency policy. Qualifications 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 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 Experience/Education Combination Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education are qualifying for meeting the basic requirements 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) Grade Determinations: Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient)Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient) - GS-5 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level OR - Education Successful completion of a bachelor'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 management or a related degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours in health information management or technology Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i Ability to use health information technology and various office software products used in MRT (Coder) positions (e.g. - the electronic health record - coding and abstracting software - etc.) ii Ability to navigate through and abstract pertinent information from health records iii Knowledge of the ICD CM and PCS Official Conventions and Guidelines for Coding and Reporting iv Ability to apply knowledge of medical terminology - human anatomy/physiology - and disease processes to accurately assign codes to inpatient records based on health record documentation v Knowledge of The Joint Commission requirements - CMS - and/or health record documentation guidelines vi Ability to manage priorities and coordinate work to complete duties within required timeframes and the ability to follow-up on pending issues Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient) - GS-6 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for coding and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation ii Ability to determine whether health records contain sufficient information for regulatory requirements - are acceptable as legal documents - are adequate for continuity of patient care - and support the assigned codes This includes the ability to take appropriate actions if health record contents are not complete - accurate - timely - and/or reliable iii Ability to apply laws and regulations on the confidentiality of health information (e.g. - Privacy Act - Freedom of Information Act - and HIPAA) iv Ability to accurately apply the ICD CM and PCS Official Conventions and Guidelines for Coding and Reporting to various coding scenarios v Comprehensive knowledge of current classification systems - such as ICD Clinical Modification (CM) and PCS - CPT - and HCPCS - and skill in applying said classifications to inpatient records based on health record documentation vi Knowledge of complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC) - and POA indicators to obtain correct Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient) - GS-7 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i Skill in applying current coding classifications to a variety of inpatient specialty care areas to accurately reflect service and care provided based on documentation in the health record ii Ability to communicate with clinical staff for specific coding and documentation issues - such as recording diagnoses and procedures - the correct sequencing of diagnoses and/or procedures - and the relationship between health record documentation and code assignment iii 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 v Ability to abstract - assign - and sequence codes - including complication or comorbidity/major complication or comorbidity (CC/MCC) - and POA indicators - to obtain correct MS-DRG Medical Records Technician (Coder-Inpatient) - GS-8 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: i Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for inpatient 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 comments - and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient ii Ability to accurately perform the full scope of inpatient coding - including inpatient discharges - surgical cases - diagnostic studies and procedures - and inpatient professional services iii Skill in interpreting and adapting health information guidelines that are not completely applicable to the work or have gaps in specificity - and the ability to use judgment in completing assignments using incomplete or inadequate guidelines Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-4. 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service. Duties This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Salisbury - NC VA Healthcare System MRTs (Coder) are skilled in classifying medical data from patient health records in the hospital setting - and/or physician-based settings - such as physician offices - group practices - multi-specialty clinics - and specialty centers. These coding practitioners analyze and abstract patients' health records - and assign alpha-numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure To perform this task - they must possess expertise in International Classification of Diseases (ICD) - Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) - and the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) MRT (Coder) may also provide education related to coding and documentation Duties include but are not limited to: Complete and accurate diagnostic and procedural coded data are necessary for research - epidemiology - outcomes and statistical analysis - financial and strategic planning - reimbursement - evaluation of quality of care - and communication to support the patient's treatment Diagnoses and procedures will be coded utilizing the current edition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Clinical Modification (CM) and Procedure Coding System (PCS) - Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) - and/or Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) NOTE: Coders will follow current published ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting - CPT Guidelines - as well as other established industry standard coding guidance such as the American Medical Association (AMA) CPT Assistant and the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Coding Clinic Selects and assigns codes from the current version of several coding systems to include ICD - CPT - and/or HCPCS Assigns codes to documented patient care encounters (inpatient facility and/or professional services) covering the full range of health care services provided by the VAMC Patient encounters are often complicated and complex requiring extensive coding expertise Applies advanced knowledge of medical terminology - anatomy & physiology - disease processes - treatment modalities - diagnostic tests - medications - procedures as well as the principles and practices of health services and the organizational structure to ensure proper code selection Adheres to accepted coding practices - guidelines and conventions when choosing the most appropriate diagnosis - operation - procedure - ancillary - or Evaluation and Management (E/M) code to ensure ethical - accurate - and complete coding Applies codes based on guidelines specific to certain diagnoses - procedures - and other criteria used to classify patients under the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) program that categorizes all VA patients into specific classes representing their clinical conditions and resource needs Assists facility staff with documentation requirements to completely and accurately reflect the patient care provided provides technical support in the areas of regulations and policy - coding requirements - resident supervision - reimbursement - workload - accepted nomenclature - and proper sequencing Ensures provider documentation is complete and supports the diagnoses and procedures coded Directly consults with the professional staff for clarification of conflicting or ambiguous clinical data Reports incorrect documentation or codes in the electronic patient health record Uses a variety of computer applications in day-to-day activities and duties - such as Microsoft Outlook - Excel - Word - and Teams competent in use of electronic health record applications as well as the encoder product suite Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Virtual: This is a virtual/ remote position Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional #J-18808-Ljbffr U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs