HEALTH TECHNICIAN (Telehealth Clinical)

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

01Basic Requirements

United States Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. After a determination is made that it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, non-citizen personnel may be appointed on a temporary basis under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405, without regard to the citizenship requirements of 38 U.S.C. 7402 or any other law prohibiting the employment of or payment of compensation to a person who is not a citizen of the United States. Education and/Experience. Experience.

One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR, Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation (transcript required). OR, Experience/Education Combination.

Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field (transcript required); or (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S.

Armed Forces. Grandfathering Provision. All Health Technicians (Telehealth Clinical) employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

02Preferred Experience

Telehealth and VA administrative/clinical experience.

03Grade Determinations

GS-5 (Entry Level) Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) (1) Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. (2) Assignment. This is an entry level Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) position. It is expected that the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision.

Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to, schedule telehealth appointments using an electronic scheduling system; obtain and document patient history and pertinent clinical information in electronic medical records; prepares the telehealth room where the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) readies the equipment for examination, establishes video conferencing connection, makes introductions between patient site and provider site; monitors and maintains electronic schedule of rooms, patients, technologies, and presenters; administers the patient satisfaction survey; cleans and performs minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology.

GS 6 (Full Performance Level) Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA).

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.(a) Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks.(b) Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education.(c) Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction.(d) Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments.(e) Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions.(f) Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment.

References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G50 dated February 7, 2018.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-06.

04Physical Requirements

The work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment or assisting patients. The work requires above average agility and dexterity. The incumbent may be required to travel between VA and/or Non-VA clinical areas sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required.

The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) serves in a generalist role to support and manage telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care and delivery site (VA Medial Center, CBOC, VA Outreach Clinic, etc.), with duties that require travel.

Primary responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to: Supporting clinical telehealth encounters for both the patient and provider locations by serving as the tele-presenter within scope of practice; Functioning as an imager and clinical data manager for telehealth store and forward applications; Managing real time clinical telehealth events, providing established instructions for patients, and providing technical and administrative support of telehealth operations; Providing technical support to end-users; Scheduling simple and complex intra-facility and inter-facility telehealth appointments; Installing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting technology, and performing a variety of program support duties as assigned; Cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment with documentation on logs/spreadsheets; Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment; Screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; Arranging and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veteran for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies; Collecting data and transmitting it electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines; Receiving VA Video Connect (VVC) Test Call consults, contacting Veterans, and educating regarding the VVC process to include a practice VVC Call with the Veteran; Monitoring and maintaining schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations.

Work Schedule: 0730-1600 Monday-Friday (subject to changed based on agency needs) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required