Supervisory Medical Records Technician (Coder)

Veterans Health Administration; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Health Administration seeks a Medical Records Technician (Coder) for the Alaska VA Medical Center, aiming to classify data from patient health records in hospital settings. The role requires knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and coding practices, with certification pathways through AHIMA or AAPC.

Qualified applicants must meet basic requirements for citizenship, education/experience, and certification.

Qualifications

• One year of creditable experience showing knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and health records structure/format.
• Associate degree with HIM/Health Information Management coursework or related degree with 12 semester hours in HIM courses.
• Completion of an AHIMA/AAPC coding program leading to certification eligibility and accreditation by a recognized body.

Skills

Medical terminology

Anatomy

Physiology

Medical coding

Health records format

Education

Associate degree in health information technology/health information management

AHIMA/AAPC coding program with certification eligibility

Job description

This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Alaska VA Medical Center. Medical Records Technicians (Coder) 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.

NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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.
• Experience and Education:
  • Experience: One year of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical coding, and the structure and format of a health records.; 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, medical coding, and introduction to health records); OR,
    • Completion of an AHIMA approved coding program, or other intense coding training program of approximately one year or more that included courses in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, basic ICD diagnostic/procedural, and basic CPT coding. The training program must have led to eligibility for coding certification/certification examination, and the sponsoring academic institution must have been accredited by a national U.S. Department of Education accreditor, or comparable international accrediting authority at the time the program was completed; OR,
  • Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of creditable experience and education are qualifying for meeting the basic requirements. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and creditable experience:
    • Six months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, general understanding of medical coding and the health record, and one year above high school, with a minimum of 6 semester hours of health information technology courses.
    • 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, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to six months of experience provided the training program included courses in anatomy, physiology, and health record techniques and procedures. Also, requires six additional months of creditable experience that is paid or non-paid employment equivalent to a MRT (Coder).
• Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either (1), (2), or (3) below:
  • Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
  • Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
  • Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS.
• Loss of Credential: Following initial certification, credentials must be maintained through rigorous continuing education, ensuring the highest level of competency for employers and consumers. An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies, if a placement opportunity exists.

Grade Determinations

Supervisory Medical Records Technician (Coder), GS-10

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

Certification: Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification.

• Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, to include recommending awards, approving leave, evaluating work, resolving staff issues, and assigning, planning, and coordinating work to ensure duties are completed in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Advanced knowledge of current coding classification systems such as ICD, CPT, and HCPCS for the subspecialty being assigned (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined).
• Ability to provide or coordinate staff development and training.
• Leadership and managerial skills, including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, and managers.
• Ability to collect and analyze data, identify trends, and present results in various formats.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-10.

Physical Requirements

There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.