Medical Records Administrator Specialist

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: MRAs must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Experience or Education: 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 [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: Coding Certification through AHIMA or AAPC. OR HIM Certification through AHIMA. OR Health Data Analyst Certification through AHIMA. 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, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to, and including, the full performance journeyman level GS-11, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. GS-11 Grade Determinations: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrates all the KSAs described at that level. OR Education. Education equivalent to three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree, from an accredited university or college in the field of health information. AND Certification. Employees at this level must have a HIM Certification. AND Demonstrated Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities. 1. Skill in performance and process improvement techniques to develop and implement new or improved solutions in health information management.2. 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.3. Ability to plan, justify, develop, evaluate, assess, monitor, and advise on current health information management processes and recommend changes in policies or procedures.4. Ability to determine and evaluate compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory guidelines and accrediting bodies as they apply to health information management.5. Ability to plan, justify, develop, evaluate, assess, monitor and/or advise on current HIM processes and recommend changes in policies or procedures.6. Ability to successfully apply principles and techniques of sound resource management (i.e., staffing, space, contracts, equipment).7. 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.

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