[Hiring] Medical Records Technician (Coder) Auditor @Kansas City VA Medical Center

Role Description

This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. MRTs (Coder) Auditors 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.

• Duties consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• Auditors must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder).
• Serve as experts of current coding conventions and guidelines related to professional and facility coding.
• Perform audits of encounters to identify areas of non-compliance in coding.
• Facilitate improved overall quality, completeness, and accuracy of coded data.
• Provide recommendations on appropriate coding and maintain current knowledge of various regulatory guidelines and requirements.
• Assist facility staff with documentation requirements to accurately reflect patient care provided.
• Provide technical support in areas of regulations and policy, coding requirements, resident supervision, reimbursement, workload, accepted nomenclature, and proper sequencing.
• Consult directly with clinical staff for clarification of conflicting or ambiguous clinical data.
• Use computer applications to produce reports, abstract records, and review assigned codes.
• Perform prospective and retrospective coding audits and utilize results to identify documentation and coding inadequacies.
• Act independently to plan, organize, and perform auditing with emphasis on data validation, analysis, and report generation.
• Assist in the development of guidelines for data quality, consistency, and monitoring for compliance.
• Maintain statistical databases to track results and validate the program.
• Identify patterns and variations in coding practices with regular reports to medical staff and management.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience: One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of health records.
• 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.
• Completion of an AHIMA approved coding program, or other intense coding training program of approximately one year or more.
• Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education are qualifying for meeting the basic requirements.

Requirements

• Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either:
• Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
• Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
• Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS.
• Grade Determinations: Medical Records Technician (Coder) Auditor, GS-9.
• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level of a MRT (Coder).
• Certification: Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification.
• Demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Advanced knowledge of current coding classification systems such as ICD, CPT, and HCPCS.
• Ability to research and solve complex questions related to coding conventions and guidelines.
• Ability to review coded data and supporting documentation for adherence to standards.
• Ability to format and present audit results, identify trends, and provide guidance.
• Skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution.
• Preferred Experience: Certified/Credentialed Coder with at least 3 years of coding and auditing experience.

Benefits

• Work Schedule: 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday-Friday.
• Telework: No, this is a remote position.
• Virtual: This is a virtual position.
• Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
• PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.