Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical)

The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management.

Qualifications:

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. 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. -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
  • 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; OR
  • 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.
• Certificate: None
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency. Health Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and7407(d).

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).

Grade Determinations:

GS-05: Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

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-06:
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.

• Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks.
• Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education.
• Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction.
• Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments
• Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions.
• Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment.
• Skilled in the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters.

Assignment. This is considered the full performance level for this assignment. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of the Connected Care Services. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to, screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; communicating effectively with administrative and professional staff, and obtaining assistance for issues that may arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Responsible for performing imaging duties in accordance with VHA national telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images and/or data, obtains consent as necessary, generates consults according to established procedures for each telehealth specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention as appropriate, and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Responsible for facilitation of real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a licensed independent Practitioner or clinical specialist; schedules, confirms and coordinates Telehealth services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites; analyzes own work flow to determine potential problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units/facilities; has regular contact with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; responsible for conducting routine inventories and consistently tracking location/status of Telehealth technology located at assigned site; and communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary.

Preferred Experience:

1. Knowledge of monitoring of workload capture and issues for assigned patients and provider clinics including telehealth resource based scheduling;
2. Knowledge of establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections to facilitate an effective clinical encounter using clinical video Telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC)
3. Knowledge of Store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines
4. Knowledge of scheduling using various vista scheduling systems
5. Previous or current clinical healthcare experience in hospital or clinic setting

Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0640, HEALTH TECHNICIAN (TELEHEALTH CLINICAL), 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.

Physical Requirements:
A pre-placement examination will be required to be able to determine if the incumbent is able to safely operate a government vehicle. The following requirements must be met:

• distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction,
• field of vision 70 degrees,
• ability to distinguish red, green and amber,
• whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.

Responsibilities:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

This is considered the full performance level for the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) position. The incumbent performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care. The incumbent may receive guidance from more experienced staff members and may provide guidance to less experienced staff members but requires minimal direct supervision. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to:

- prepares the clinical environment, which includes preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment;
- serves as a tele-presenter within scope of practice during clinical video telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC) encounters including tasks such as establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient and provider site, following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter;
- serves as imager and clinical data manager for store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines;
- ensures patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations;
- receives and schedules requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter- facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system;
- screens patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care;
- monitors and maintains schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters to ensure efficient telehealth operations;
- communicates effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care;
- configures, installs, troubleshoots, cleans, and performs minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology;
- ensures assigned telehealth technologies are managed appropriately to include inventory, secure, ready for use, and accounted for by preparing and tracking maintenance work orders, information systems, inventory records, and communicating with the National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary;
- provides established education and training to Veterans, staff and providers on the use of telehealth technologies and serving as a point of contact to answer questions and address concerns related to these technologies;
- maintains knowledge of and skill in applying rules, procedures, and operations in telehealth-related technologies and a variety of computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, document and report generation;
- maintains regular contact with other staff and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues;
- arranges and completes test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies;
- Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Fulltime, Monday thru Friday 08:00 AM to 4:45 PM
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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).
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.
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
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Salary : $417