Health Systems Specialist

Summary This position reports to the Ambulatory Care Operations Director /Group Practice Manager in the Clinical Operations Service Line. The primary purpose of this position is to provide assistance and support to the Ambulatory Care Operations /Group Practice Manager and to all ambulatory care services in the facility. Responsible for Primary Care, Mental Health, Surgery, Medicine or Ancillary ambulatory clinics oversight and integration into an efficient Clinic Practice Management model. Responsibilities Works independently with personnel at the facility and Community Based Outpatient Clinics CBOC's, as it relates to access to care to implement local, national and VISN standards. Works closely with clinic managers to formulate budget recommendations for all outpatient clinical services to allocate all available resources to achieve optimal outcomes in access to care and the Veteran Experience. Acts as a liaison for communications with persons or groups internal and external to the facility, representing the Group Practice Manager on clinical access issues. Promotes established system-wide training plans to optimize local use. Maintains knowledge of CPM training materials and supports fulfillment of action plans to meet CPM training requirements. Works with Veteran Experience Officers within the local facility to evaluate patient and family concerns regarding the access to services needed. Responsible for Primary Care, Mental Health, Surgery, Medicine or Ancillary ambulatory clinics oversight and integration into an efficient Clinic Practice Management (CPM) model. Ensures a high quality patient experience for the Veteran, by acting on feedback from the Veteran, his or her family, facility employees, expert clinical staff and the ACOD/GPM. Provides data, reports and assistance to the ACOD/GPM in their work in development of strategic plans for the facility as it relates to access to care. Measures and provides recommendations with an emphasis on improving clinical product line performance. Provides access related consultative services, working in collaboration with facility Service Lines, to review and develop guidance and policies that will facilitate standardized processes within the facility and CBOCs. Performs demand/capacity analysis, implementing established actions plans that will enable clinical grids to accurately reflect supply. Utilizes advanced principles to identify strategies for access improvement and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads for reducing backlog (recall delinquency, past due return to clinic orders, open consults, missed opportunity rates, wait times, or community care needs). Ensures accuracy of related services Full Time Employment Equivalents (FTEE), person class assignments, and labor mapping. Completes make-or-buy decision analysis of in-house and community provided care. Performs demand/capacity analysis, implementing established actions plans that will enable clinical grids to accurately reflect supply. Monitors existing or emerging workflow issues, consult management issues and Information Technology usage and issues, providing guidance to Clinic/Administrative Leads, as needed Collects and analyzes trended data sets to make recommendations in the allocation of fiscal, personnel, equipment, and space resources. Assists clinic managers in forecasting the impact of staff changes and developing countermeasures to mitigate effect of staff shortages. Promotes effective communication and optimal information flow within the clinics. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Telework available as determined by the agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Specialist/PD99866S and PD99865S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/23/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS 9 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. GS 11 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health System Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as 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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting, working directly with clinicians and other administrators to solve problems in support of the delivery of patient care; and experience running an administrative component of a health care credentialing and privileging program. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed a Ph.D., equivalent doctoral degree, three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, Or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond a master's degree) and specialized experience as described above to meet total experience requirements. Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health System Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as 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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting, working directly with clinicians and other administrators to solve problems in support of the delivery of patient care; and experience running an administrative component of a health care credentialing and privileging program. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Computer Skills Conflict Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Data Management Data Systems Database Administration Database Management Systems Financial Analysis Technical Credibility 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. The position will utilize a desk and computer and may need to navigate throughout the facility clinical areas. Stamina and concentration to meet crucial deadlines is required. Work is usually performed in office settings within a clinical environment. The position may spend time in clinical areas of the facility to ensure coordination of schedules, attend meetings, and facilitate program effectiveness. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at pm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: d.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: d.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at pm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.