Medical Records Administrator Specialist

This position is in the Health Administration Service (HAS)/Health Information Management (HIM) at the West Palm Beach Veteran's Hospital. Medical Records Administration Specialist (MRAS) in the VHA performs duties and responsibilities carried out throughout the Medical Center. MRAS provides health information and medical record professional consultation and administrative assistance to the Health Information Management Section, Supervisors and to the Medical Center at large.

Medical Records Administration Specialist duties include but not limited to:

• Serve as Medical Records Administrator serving in a teaching, coordinating, advisory and data validation capacity to ensure The Joint Commission and VA requirements/regulations are met.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with Physicians, Service Chiefs, and other medical center staff at all organizational levels.
• Interpret and apply The Joint Commission standards, VA regulations and medico legal requirements; current Federal Codes pertinent to medical records; Veterans Administration policy memoranda, directives and handbooks pertinent to medical records.
• Prepare monthly/quarterly reports for presentation to the medical staff and medical center management.
• Prepare and monitor the facility documentation completion reports and communicates data to the appropriate providers.
• Ensure documentation is completed timely in accordance with The Joint Commission standards and facility policy.
• Stay abreast on emerging issues and trends in the health information management field, including the electronic health record, coding and computer assisted coding, the revenue cycle, release of information and privacy issues, and data exchange.
• Ensure hospital Medical Center memorandums relating to the health information policies are current and updated.
• Research and assimilate data for special reports as required by Central Office, accrediting agencies, medical staff and various local station services.
• Problem solves improperly identified documents with clinicians, CACs and others who report problems. Reassigns, rescinds and removes documents when they have been entered or uploaded incorrectly.
• Responsible for clinical pertinence, quantitative, and qualitative reviews of the health information system to insure VA, The Joint Commission, and legal requirements are met.
• Responsible for determining training needs, originating and implementing an active training program for all personnel dealing with the health information system without guidance from supervisor.
• Serve as a member of the Medical Record Committee and has the responsibility to be knowledgeable of VA and The Joint Commission requirements applicable to health information issues.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Telework: Not authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 40729F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: All applicants must meet the following basic qualifications.

• Citizenship. Candidates must be a citizen of the United States.
• English Language Proficiency. MRAs must be proficient in spoken and written English. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education or Experience: 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.)
• Health Information Management (HIM) Certification. Higher-level health information management certification is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA. To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in the occupation. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of HIM certification may be added/removed by the above certifying body; however, current HIM certifications include Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).

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, or [changed to lower grade] within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the [journeyman] level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
• (2)] Employees who [were] appointed on a temporary basis, prior to the effective date of the qualification standard, may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
• [(3)] Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/[registration/]certification[, and] meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• (4) MRAs who are converted to title] 38 [hybrid status] under this provision [and subsequently leave the] occupation [lose] protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry [, as a medical records administrator].

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be to qualify for a specific grade level.

Medical Records Administration Specialist GS-11

Experience. One year of [creditable] experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9) that demonstrates all of 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 management.

AND
Demonstrated Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities:

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, statues, 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 acquire, manage, analyze, interpret, and transform data into accurate, consistent, and meaningful information.

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

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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 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 1 or 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.