This position is in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the VA St. Louis Health Care System (VASTLHCS). MRTs (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.
These coding practitioners analyze and abstract patients' health records, and assign alpha-numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure.
***This announcement closes 10/08/2026 -OR- once it reaches 25 applicants*** Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Applies comprehensive knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy & physiology, disease processes, treatment modalities, diagnostic tests, medications, procedures as well as the principles and practices of health services and the organizational structure to ensure proper code selection.
Reviews assigned codes from the current version of several coding systems to include current versions of ICD, CPT, and/or HCPCS. Adheres to accepted coding practices, guidelines and conventions when validating the most appropriate diagnosis, operation, procedure, ancillary, or evaluation and management (E/M) code to ensure ethical, accurate, and complete coding.
Applies guidelines specific to certain diagnoses, procedures, and other criteria used to classify patients under the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) program that categorizes all VA patients into specific classes representing their clinical conditions and resource needs. Monitors ever-changing regulatory and policy requirements affecting coded information for the full spectrum of services provided by the VAMC.
Assists facility staff with documentation requirements to completely and accurately reflect the patient care provided; provides technical support in the areas of regulations and policy, coding requirements, resident supervision, reimbursement, workload, accepted nomenclature, and proper sequencing. Audits accuracy and completeness of assigned ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes, MS-DRG, POA status, and discharge disposition values for inpatient health records.
Audit function includes evaluation of clinical documentation to support optimal code assignment. Analyzes audit results and prepares summary feedback for individual coders and/or clinicians, making recommendations for improvement. Provides coding consultation to coders and/or clinicians related to coding and documentation questions.
Maintains statistical database(s) to track the results and validate the program for identifying patterns and variations in coding practices with regular reports to the medical staff and management. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday from 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: This position is remote work ELIGIBLE and is currently exempted from return to office requirements. Remote exempted positions are reviewed annually and do not imply permanent remote work status.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.
For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Ashley.Moore5@va.gov · 314-652-4100
This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.
The posted pay range is $61722 – $80243/yr.
This position is eligible for telework.
Applications close on 2026-10-08.
This position is open under the 'Public' hiring path.
Source: USAJOBS.gov — U.S. Federal Government
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