Medical Records Technician (ROI)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Chesapeake (VA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Hampton VA Medical Center, located at the North Battlefield Clinic, seeks a Medical Records Technician (ROI) to review and process PHI requests. The role requires knowledge of medical terminology and health records, and a strong commitment to privacy and release of information procedures.

Candidates must meet GS-4 to GS-6 criteria with basic requirements and KSAs, including familiarity with health information technology and privacy regulations.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of medical terminology and health records
• Ability to follow privacy policies and release of information procedures
• Ability to manage priorities and coordinate tasks to meet deadlines
• Familiarity with health information technology and release of information systems
• Understanding of HIPAA, Privacy Act, FOIA, and related regulations

Responsibilities

• Review and process requests for patient protected health information (PHI)
• Apply health information guidelines to locate, assemble, and disclose PHI
• Coordinate workflows to ensure timely responses to requests and maintain accuracy

Skills

MRT ROI knowledge

Health information privacy

Terminology & PHI handling

Office software & EHR familiarity

Education

Associate's degree in health information management/related field

Bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours in HIM/related

Job description

This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Hampton VA Medical Center, North Battlefield Clinic location. The MRT (ROI) reviews and processes requests for patient protected health information (PHI). 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. MRTs (ROI) 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 and 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 (ROI) work.
  • OR,
  • 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 (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy and 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 experience and educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and creditable experience:
    • (a) Six months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, privacy and release of information, the health record, and one year above high school with a minimum of six semester hours of health information technology/health information management courses.
    • (b) Six months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, privacy and release of information, the health record, and successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service under close medical and professional supervision. The training program may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to six months of experience provided the training program included courses in anatomy and physiology, and health record techniques and procedures.

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).

In addition to the basic requirements, the below qualification requirements must be met at the grade(s) in which you are applying.

Grade Determinations

The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates.

Medical Records Technician (ROI), GS-4

Experience or Education. None beyond basic requirements above.

Medical Records Technician (ROI), GS-5

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of GS 4;

OR,

Education. Successful completion of a bachelor'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 management, or a related degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours in health information technology/health information management (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, legal aspects of health care, and introduction to health records).

AND,

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Ability to utilize health information technology and various office software products utilized in MRT (ROI) positions (e.g., the electronic health record, release of information systems, etc.).
• Knowledge of health record documentation guidelines and processes for disclosing protected health information.
• Ability to manage priorities and coordinate work in order to complete duties within required timeframes, and the ability to follow-up on pending issues.
• Knowledge of policies, procedures, laws, and regulations governing privacy and release of information.
• Ability to communicate with individuals from various backgrounds to obtain the desired effect or gaining information by establishing rapport.

Medical Records Technician (ROI), GS-6

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS 5.

AND,

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of the laws and regulations related to the authorization and disclosure of health information (e.g., Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and 38 U.S.C. § 7332, Confidentiality of Certain Medical Records).
• Ability to apply health record documentation guidelines and processes to navigate efficiently through the paper and/or electronic health record to locate, assemble, and disclose protected health information.
• Ability to apply policies, procedures, laws, and regulations governing privacy and release of information to process requests for release of information.
• Ability to research and solve difficult questions related to release of health information in an accurate and timely manner.

Reference

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 06.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-6.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.