Medical Records Administrator (Assistant Chief (ACHIM)

Description:

This position is in the Health Information Management section under Health Administration Services at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center. The Tuscaloosa VAMC is in West Alabama, where the facility is situated on a beautiful campus of 125 acres with 25 major buildings. TVAMC provides Primary Care, Long-term health care, and mental health care services to eligible Veterans in the VA Southeast Network (Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) 7.

Requirements:

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: Three years of [creditable] experience in the field of medical records that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of [health] records and health information systems [demonstrating a knowledge of medical terminology,] medical records [procedures, medical coding, or medical, administrative, and legal requirements of health care delivery] systems.

OR

• Education: [Successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher 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 health information technology.]

OR

• Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education may be used to meet basic requirements. [For example, two years above high school from an accredited college or university, with 12 semester hours in health information technology/health information management, plus one year and six months of creditable experience that included the preparation, maintenance, and management of health records and health information systems meets an equivalent combination.

AND

• Certification: Coding Certification through AHIMA or AAPC or HIM Certification through AHIMA or Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA.

Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRA positions in the GS-0669 series in VHA must meet one of the following:

(1) Coding Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.

NOTE . See paragraph above for a detailed definition of Coding Certification.

OR,

(2) HIM Certification through AHIMA.

NOTE . See paragraph above for a detailed definition of HIM Certification.

OR ,

(3) Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA.

NOTE . See paragraph above for a detailed definition of Health Data Analyst Certification.
NOTE . HIMs Certification is required for all positions above the full performance level.

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 Administrator Assistant Chief (ACHIM), GS-11

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrate the following KSAs below:

i. Skill in performance and process improvement techniques to develop and implement new or improved solutions in health information management.
ii. Ability to advise management and staff at various levels regarding health record documentation requirements and health information management practices based on current industry standards, policies, statutes, laws, and regulations.
iii. Ability to plan, justify, develop, evaluate, assess, monitor, and advise on current health information management processes and recommend changes in policies or procedures.
iv. Ability to determine and evaluate compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory guidelines and accrediting bodies as they apply to health information management.
v. Ability to plan, justify, develop, evaluate, assess, monitor and/or advise on current HIM processes and recommend changes in policies or procedures. vi. Ability to successfully apply principles and techniques of sound resource management (i.e., staffing, space, contracts, equipment).
vii. Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties, to include assignment of work, completing performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation for awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions, when appropriate.

Assignments. This assignment is considered above the full performance level. This assignment serves as the Assistant Chief of Health Information Management (ACHIM) in VA Medical Centers designated as complexity level 2 or 3 as designated in the VHA, "2014 Facility Complex Model". The ACHIM assists the Chief HIM (CHIM) in establishing policies, responsibilities, and requirements for HIM related matters, such as health record documentation, coding and clinical documentation improvement, records management, release of information, file room/scanning, transcription and medical speech recognition, as well as the overall management of health information and Veterans health records. The ACHIM assists the CHIM in identifying and setting short-range and long-range goals, program objectives, and tasks to meet the mission and vision of the medical center. They monitor and manage HIM workflow to ensure program objectives are met. They also assist with planning, developing, directing, and evaluating health information and other functions. They oversee implementation and adherence to HIM industry standards, policies, procedures, laws, regulations, and accrediting bodies. The ACHIM ensures the facility is in compliance with applicable standards by completing HIM audits, healthcare data reports, and statistical information, for timely and accurate reporting. They establish, implement, and monitor HIM performance through metrics, productivity measures, benchmarking, and other applicable tools. This MRA position ensures quality and efficiency for all areas and processes of the HIM department.

Preferred Experience: Supervisory and Medical Records Administrator experience

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.