Medical Records Administrator Assistant Chief (HIMS)

Description:

This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) Section of Business Office at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (BPVAHCS). Medical Records Administrators in VHA perform or supervise work concerned with the management of a health record program or the provision of services related to medical record administration/health information services. MRAs manage, analyze, and supervise the use of diagnostic and therapeutic health records health information management.

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

a. Citizenship . Candidates must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

b. Education or Experience :
(1) 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,

(2) 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,

(3) Experience/Education Combination . Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education that equals 100 percent 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.

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 2a above for a detailed definition of Coding Certification. OR, (2) HIM Certification through AHIMA. NOTE. See paragraph 2d above for a detailed definition of HIM Certification. OR, (3) Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA. NOTE. See paragraph 2c above for a detailed definition of Health Data Analyst Certification.

NOTE. HIMs Certification is required for all positions above the full performance level.

Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as an MRA are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, including positive education, and registration and/or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed.

Physical Requirements . See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

English Language Proficiency . MRAs must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Medical Records Administrator (Assistant Chief (ACHIM), GS-12

Experience . One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrates all the KSAs described at that level.

AND

Certification. Employees at this level must have a HIM Certification.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Skill in managing various projects and processes, which includes the ability to develop new or improved solutions to complex technical problems in health information management.
• Ability to advise management and staff [on a wide range of] health information [management practices] based on current [industry] standards, [policies, statutes, laws, and regulations.
• Ability to plan, justify, develop, evaluate, assess, monitor, and/or advise on current health information management processes, and recommend changes in policies or procedures.
• Ability to determine and [evaluate compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory guidelines, and accrediting bodies as they apply to health information management.
• Ability to successfully apply principles and techniques of sound resource management (i.e., staffing, space, contracts, equipment).
• Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties to include assignment of work, completing performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.

Assignments. This assignment serves as the Assistant Chief in VA Medical Centers for all categories (1a, 1b, and 1c) within the complexity level 1 as designated in the VHA, "2014 Facility Complexity Level Model". The ACHIM assists the 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. They assist 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. The ACHIM monitors and manages HIM workflow to ensure the program objectives are met. The ACHIM assists 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. They ensure the facility is in compliance with applicable standards by completing HIM audits, developing 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. The ACHIM ensures quality and efficiency for all areas and processes of the HIM department.
This announcement is above the full performance.

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