Supervisory Medical Records Technician - Coder

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeks a Supervisory Medical Records Technician (Coder) at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. The role emphasizes supervising coding staff, ensuring accurate classification of patient health data, and maintaining compliance with coding standards.

The position requires strong knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and coding guidelines, with leadership skills to organize team activities and coordinate work across the HIM section.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology.
• Understanding of medical coding and health record structure.
• Experience with coding classifications (ICD, CPT, HCPCS) and related guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Oversee supervisory duties for medical records coding team.
• Provide training and staff development.
• Coordinate work assignments and monitor accuracy of coding outputs.

Skills

Medical terminology

Anatomy & physiology

Medical coding

Leadership

Team coordination

Education

Associate degree in health information technology/health information management

AHIMA/AAPC coding program completion

Tools

Coding software

Electronic health records systems

Job description

This position is in the Health Information Management (HIM) section of the Business Office Service Line at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. The Supervisory Medical Records Technician is 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. 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Proficient in spoken and written English.
• Experience and Education. Experience. 1 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. a.) 6 months of creditable experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology, general understanding of medical coding and the health record, and 1 year above high school, with a minimum of 6 semester hours of health information technology courses. b.) 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 6months 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. Candidates must have either (1), (2), or (3) below: 1) Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC, 2) Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC, 3) Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS.

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).

Grade Determinations

Supervisory Medical Records Technician (Coder), GS-10

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9*);

*Examples of duties at the GS-9 include, but are not limited to: work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize, and coordinate activities in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment, such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, etc; Knowledge of current coding classification systems for the subspecialty being assigned (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined) and the ability to research and solve complex questions related to coding conventions and guidelines in an accurate and timely manner; effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives; Training methods and the ability to provide training to new coding staff; collect and analyze data and present results in various formats, which may include presenting reports to various organizational levels; Leadership skills, including interpersonal relations and conflict resolution between employees, managers, and clinical staff.

Certification

Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• 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.

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

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

Physical Requirements

The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to complete assigned work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, folders, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform this work.