Medical Records Technician (ROI-Legal)

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Health Information Management (HIM) section at the El Paso VA Health Care System (ELPVAHCS).

The Medical Records Technician (ROI-Legal) reviews and processes requests for patient protected health information (PHI).

The MRT (ROI-Legal) also provides direct customer service to the Veteran (or third party), by providing copies of the Veteran's PHI, when a signed, written request is received, or upon the Veteran's valid authorization to a third party.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/31/2026.

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: (1) 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, (2) 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, (3) 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.

English Language Proficiency. Medical Records Technicians (ROI-Legal) must be proficient in spoken and written English, as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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).

Medical Records Technician (ROI-Legal), GS-7 Grade Determination: Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade GS-6 level.

Specialized experience includes applying, interpreting, and analyzing laws and regulations related to the disclosure of health information.

MRTs (ROI) are responsible for educating requestors on requirements for submitting requests for health information.

They receive and validate authorization forms and requests for information and prioritize requests according to policies and regulations.

They use various computer applications to track and release all authorized release of information requests.

MRTs (ROI) process and release health information to authorized first- and third- party requestors.

They initiate and maintain the accounting of disclosure for all records disclosed from a Privacy Act system of records.

They communicate with internal and external stakeholders to provide technical expertise regarding the release of information process.

They ensure compliance with policies, procedures, laws, and regulations governing privacy and release of information. Assignment.

For all assignments above the journey level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

MRTs at this grade level will serve as the sole point of contact, and accurately process and timely respond to complex medical legal requests, including, but not limited to, subpoenas, depositions, testimony, tortfeasor (Third Party Liability), Workers' Compensation, Labor and Industries, and court orders for information from attorneys, courts, local law enforcement agencies, public defenders, or insurance agencies.

They serve as a liaison to Regional Counsels and U.S. Attorney's offices, for trial cases. They review and analyze requests to ascertain the type of case to be developed.

MRTs (ROI -Legal) ensure all disclosures are made in compliance with existing policies, procedures, guidelines, laws, and regulations.

They ensure that information released is limited to what is specifically authorized and to the person or agency designated to receive it.

They maintain the accounting of disclosures for all leg al cases.

MRTs (ROI-Legal) compile the legal health record and provide advisory and technical assistance to patients and internal and external stakeholders pertaining to medical legal requests.

They extensively research and resolve conflicting or inconsistent information related to complex medical legal requests. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of the laws and regulations related to the authorization and disclosure of health information.

(b) Ability to apply laws and regulations related to the disclosure of health information (e.g., Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, HIPAA, and 38 U.S.C.

§ 7332, Confidentiality of Certain Medical Records).

(c) Ability to investigate the contents of paper and electronic health records and systems that contain health information to compile the legal health record based on existing standards and requirements.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination. Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The incumbent processes all incoming requests to the facility for Release of Information (ROI) along with information required by the VA Regional Office through the Automated Medical Information Exchange (AMIE).

For sites that have transitioned to the modernized electronic health record (EHR), utilizes Access HIM Request Management solution for processing of VBA 7131 requests.

Processes medical-legal releases of information to attorneys and courts pertaining to Tort Feasor (Third Party Liability), Workman's Compensation, Labor and Industries and subpoenas.

Screens and follows through on all incoming telephone calls from attorneys and insurance representatives regarding legal cases and requests under the Privacy Act, referring only problem cases to the Supervisor.

Reviews and analyzes written and telephone requests to ascertain type of case to be developed. Develops and prepares cases for release to Regional Counsel and other appropriate parties.

Contacts attorneys when necessary to obtain additional information to develop the case.

Searches records or files to compose responses, including electronic searches, to retrieve and summarize hard-to-locate data. Locates materials that would verify information given.

Composes responses to routine requests for release of patient information.

Selects and compiles information from health records and prepares correspondence, typically using standard form or standard formats for letters. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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: Ad-hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual/remote position.

Functional Statement #: 55365-F