Medical Records Technician; Coder-Outpatient and Inpatient

This Announcement will close on Friday
- October 16 - 2026
-OR- once it reaches 30 applicants.

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/16/2026.

• Citizenship:
  Citizen of the United States
• Experience and
  
  Education:
  
  Must have one of the following:
  
  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
• 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
• Certification:
  Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA 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
• NOTE:
  
  Mastery level certification is required for all positions above the journey level
• however - for clinical documentation improvement specialist assignments - a clinical documentation improvement certification may be substituted for a mastery level certification
• GS-8 Grade Requirements:
  
  Experience:
  
  Must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• AND
  - Demonstrated Knowledge
  - Skills - and Abilities:
  1) Ability to analyze the health record to identify all pertinent diagnoses and procedures for coding and to evaluate the adequacy of the documentation
• This includes the ability to read and understand the content of the health record - the terminology - the significance of the findings - and the disease process/pathophysiology of the patient
• 2) Ability to accurately perform the full scope of outpatient coding - including ambulatory surgical cases - diagnostic studies and procedures - and outpatient encounters - and/or inpatient professional fee services coding
• 3) Skill in interpreting and adapting health information guidelines that are not completely applicable to the work or have gaps in specificity - and the ability to use judgment in completing assignments using incomplete or inadequate guidelines
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). Standards/
• Note:
  
  A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week
• Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities
• Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https:// Standards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8.
  
  Physical Requirements:
  
  See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service.

• This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the Edward Hines Jr
• VA Hospital
• MRTs (Outpatient/Inpatient 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
• Duties and responsibilities of this position include - but are not limited to the following:
  Basic Functions:
  Assigns codes to documented patient care encounters (inpatient and…