Health Systems Specialist

Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network VISN 6, Salem VA Medical Center in Quality Management Service. The Risk Manager is directly responsible to the Chief, Quality Management. The Risk Manager provides direct staff support to all Service/Service Line Chiefs and others in planning, designing, integrating, implementing, modifying, and administering a Medical Center-wide risk management program. Responsibilities Duties: The position includes but is not limited to the following major duties: - Responsible for the development and maintenance of the Medical Center Quality Management - Risk Management Program. - Analyze medical records and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) notes to retrieve information related to tort claims. - Respond to inquires from patients related to procedures on filing claims. - Coordinates peer and administrative reviews subsequent to notification of claims alleging medical malpractice. - Coordinate tort claims (medical malpractice, liability/other, small claims, and 4629 claims). - Maintain database of all such claims for the purpose of identifying trends and potential areas of improvement. - Serve as a liaison with the Regional Counsel's staff in matters relating to tort claims and contacts Regional Counsel on legal issues that are unusual. - Coordinate for a board of investigation process for the Medical Center for a Board of Investigation. - Reviews board reports and provides timely submission of original reports and tracking of corrective actions. - Provide oversight of the Peer Review program and supports the Peer Review Committee as an advisor. - Make recommendations to Medical Center Leadership and Service/Service Line Managers based on analysis of Risk Management data. - Collaborate/Lead Performance Improvement activities related to Claims Review, Boards of Investigations, Peer Review, Occurrence Screens, Disclosures, Risk Management Performance Improvement and Program Integration of the Risk Management program throughout the facility. - Assist with visits from outside regulatory and licensing agencies to include Office of Inspector General (OIG) and The Joint Commission (TJC). - Perform other related duties as assigned in support of the overall Quality Management program. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc Remote: Not a remote position Position Description Title/PD#: Health Systems Specialist~/ PD Physical Requirements: The work requires some mobility but is generally sedentary and may be performed from a seated position. Overnight travel can occur. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. OR GS-9 Qualifications: - Specialized Experience: You must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/ or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: o Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; o Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and o Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR, - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B or J.D., if related, with a Major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR, - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above. GS-11 Qualifications: - Specialized Experience: You must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/ or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: o Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; o Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and o Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR, - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree level OR three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related, with a Major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. - OR, - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above. GS-12 Qualifications: - Specialized Experience: You must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/ or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: o Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; o Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and o Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. Preferred Experience: - Risk management experience and coordinating activities as appropriate for Tort claims for both medical malpractice and administrative Tort claims. Familiar with VA OIG, TJC regulations as it relates to Risk Management. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Education 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. Additional Information VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.