Lead Medical Records Technician (Health Information Technician)

The Lead Medical Records Technician (HIT) specializes in the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, coordinating team processes, priorities, and goals. Serve as the subject matter expert for all pathology-related medical records and act as a liaison to other departments and works independently under the general guidance of the Anatomic Pathology Supervisor.

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. 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). English Language Proficiency. MRTs HIT must be proficient in spoken and written English, as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Experience and Education Experience. One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and a general understanding of health records. Six months of the required one year of creditable experience must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform MRT HIT work. - OR - Education-Submit transcript. 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 (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, legal aspects of health care, and introduction to health records). -OR- Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education are qualifying towards meeting basic experience requirements. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and creditable experience: Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a MRT HIT, on the effective date (12/10/19) of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/ registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. Grade Determinations: All MRT HIT employees assigned to this occupation must have an approved parenthetical title as described below: Lead Medical Records Technician (HIT), GS-8 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Comprehensive knowledge of health record technology methods, procedures, and techniques. Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, and to plan, organize, and coordinate activities to effectively complete job assignments (i.e., distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, and ensuring required timelines are met.) Skill in communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, to meet program objectives. Ability to prepare reports in a variety of formats and present data to individuals at various organizational levels. Ability to coordinate and provide staff development and training. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Lead MRTs HIT perform quantitative and qualitative reviews of health record documentation, initiate various reports, and analyze data. They coordinate, assign, and monitor the workflow. They ensure that team assignments are carried out by distributing and balancing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, and adjusting workload in accordance with established priorities, instructing and answering employee questions, checking employee work, and amending or rejecting work that does not meet work standards. They resolve informal complaints of employees and make recommendations to the supervisor, as requested, concerning promotions, reassignments, recognition of performance, and personnel needs. Lead MRTs HIT train and provide expert advice on specific tasks, procedures, and policies. They serve as technical expert in health record content and documentation requirements, and as an expert resource for clinical staff regarding requirements for complete documentation. They create statistical reports for medical center management. Lead MRTs HIT are responsible for assisting staff with completing the health record for patient transfers, legal cases, or other urgent requests. They identify and abstract information from health records for internal and external audits and special studies. 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-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary in nature, requiring long periods of sitting in one position and intense concentration. Work primarily involves sitting at a computer workstation and the ability to operate a computer, keyboard, printers and other basic office machines and telecommunications equipment. The work includes bending, walking, standing and carrying items such as papers, books and files. The incumbent observes normal safety and laboratory precautions while working.