Job Title

Summary This assignment serves as the Chief of Health Information Management (CHIM), which is the highest-level professional position at the facility, with responsibility for the management and direction of the health information management program. Responsibilities The CHIM establishes policies, procedures, responsibilities, and requirements for HIM related matters, such as health record documentation, coding and clinical documentation integrity, release of information, file room/scanning, records management, transcription and medical speech recognition, as well as the overall management of health information and Veterans health records. Duties will include: Completing HIM audits, developing healthcare data reports, and statistical information, for timely and accurate reporting. Monitor HIM performance through dashboards, productivity standards, and benchmarking. Participates in establishing and implementing strategic facility and HIM Department goals, controlling program activity costs, budgeting, procurement, and property management to achieve goals and improve processes. Monitor and manage HIM workflow to ensure program objectives are met. Communicate and negotiate with staff at all levels of the organization. Communicates with medical center staff and external organizations to promote compliance with regulations, guidelines, policies, and procedures to meet the goal of excellent patient care. Ensure quality and efficiency for all areas and processes of the HIM department. Develop and implement HIM departmental short-term and long-term budgets, to include contracts, equipment, space, training, and staffing plans. Ensure the HIM program complies with all national HIM policies and procedures and meets or exceeds national HIM performance metrics. Responsible for the administrative management of health records, which includes planning, managing, advising, and directing the HIM program in accordance with applicable Federal laws, facility by-laws, VHA policy (which includes directives, handbooks, program guides, fact sheets and practice briefs), The Joint Commission (TJC) standards, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and other regulatory and accrediting agency standards. Creates and monitors systems to ensure accurate, timely, and complete health records, in accordance with VHA policy and TJC health information protocols. Performs evaluation and analysis of programs and services for the purpose of strategic planning. Measures ongoing intradepartmental performance by establishing priorities, collecting data, monitoring, and reporting outcomes using valid and reliable techniques to analyze trends and variations, and taking appropriate action based on findings. Responsible for all aspects of health records management for the facility ensuring maintenance of complete, accurate, timely, clinically pertinent, and readily accessible patient health records, which contain sufficient recorded information to serve as a basis to plan patient care, support diagnoses, warrant treatment, measure outcomes, support education and facilitate performance improvement processes and legal requirements. Develops policies, processes, and procedures that address all VHA, Federal, regulatory, and accrediting requirements for HIM. Evaluates health records program and independently determines the nature and extent of problem areas. Develops action plans and monitors progress until program objectives are met. Makes recommendations and develops solutions for program improvement. Develops and implements innovative solutions to correct technical, complex problems. Provides detailed technical expertise in health records science and other very technical aspects of HIM. Maintains all health information entered into local databases and assures timely transmission of that data into all VA centralized databases - most frequently those maintained at the Austin Data Processing Center. Ensures all health information that is coded and abstracted meets the requirements of the VHA and/or TJC and is consistent with professional health records standards. Serves as a key advisor to the Chief of Staff, Executive Management, clinical, and administrative staff and is responsible for providing technical guidance on health information issues such as documentation requirements, encounter completion, industry and federal regulatory compliance, health information exchange, etc. Recommends improvements in health record documentation used to provide patient care, to optimize VERA workload capture in accordance with correct coding, documentation, encounter completion requirements, third party reimbursement and to manage resources. Consistently conducts internal quality assurance reviews to monitor employee performance and ensure work meets quality and quantity standards. Establishes monitors to ensure the timeliness of health record entries and reports findings with subsequent trending of data. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the