Health Technician (Telehealth)

Summary

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) serves in a generalist role to support and manage telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care delivery site (VA Medical Center, CBOC, VA Outreach Clinic, etc.), with duties that may require travel.

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Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Telehealth Coordination

Screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment; serving as a telepresenter within scope of practice during clinical video telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC) encounters including tasks such as establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient site and provider site, following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter; serving as an imager and clinical data manager for store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines; taking measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for inventory management; cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment while following all patient safety guidelines, protocols, and procedures; monitoring and maintaining schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations; communicating effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care; configuring, installing, troubleshooting, cleaning, and performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology; ensuring assigned telehealth technologies are managed appropriately to include inventory, secure, ready for use, and accounted for by preparing and tracking maintenance work orders, information systems, inventory records, and communicating with the National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary; maintaining knowledge of and skill in applying an extensive body of rules, procedures, and operations in telehealth-related technologies and a variety of computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, document and report generation; maintaining regular contact with other staff members and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; arranging and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies.

Administrative Support

Assignments include providing established education and training to Veterans, staff and providers on the use of telehealth technologies and serving as a point of contact to answer questions and address concerns related to these technologies; providing patient education via approved materials completing standardized clinical questionnaires and templates within scope of training and applicable guidelines; ensuring that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations; receiving and scheduling requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter-facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system; supporting the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys; ensuring information and resources are maintained for local and remote telehealth providers so they can effectively execute contingency and emergency plans.

Clinical Support

The TCT assists in patient care under the direct supervision of an independent licensed healthcare provider. The TCT can be crossed-trained to perform a range of direct care duties that may include, but are not limited to such things as performing temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation measurements, measuring height and weight, downloading pictures for any Store n Forward clinic and for the Dermatology clinic, phlebotomy (blood draws), EKG's and patient transfers in support of the primary care, specialty, urgent care clinics etc.. The TCT follows established procedures using manual or instrument techniques in accordance with established protocols, and reports results to appropriate individuals.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework : Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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 experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician, OR
  • Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation, OR
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below:
    
    
    • Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; OR
    • Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Certification. None
• English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

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 :

GS-5 (Entry Level)

1. Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
2. Assignment. This is an entry level Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) position. It is expected that the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to, schedule telehealth appointments using an electronic scheduling system; obtain and document patient history and pertinent clinical information in electronic medical records; prepares the telehealth room where the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) readies the equipment for examination, establishes video conferencing connection, makes introductions between patient site and provider site; monitors and maintains electronic schedule of rooms, patients, technologies, and presenters; administers the patient satisfaction survey; cleans and performs minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology.

GS-6 (Full Performance Level)

1. Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
2. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.
   • Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks
   • Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education.
   • Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction.
   • Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments.
   • Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions.
   • Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment.
   • Skilled in the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters.
3. Assignment. This is considered the full performance level for this assignment. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of the Connected Care Services. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to, screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; communicating effectively with administrative and professional staff, and obtaining assistance for issues that may arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Responsible for performing imaging duties in accordance with VHA national telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images and/or data, obtains consent as necessary, generates consults according to established procedures for each telehealth specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention as appropriate, and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Responsible for facilitation of real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a licensed independent Practitioner or clinical specialist; schedules, confirms and coordinates Telehealth services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites; analyzes own work flow to determine potential problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units/facilities; has regular contact with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; responsible for conducting routine inventories and consistently tracking location/status of Telehealth technology located at assigned site; and communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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