Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical)

Description:

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

Requirements:

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.

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 and Education.

• 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.
• Certification. None

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 : Health Technician -Telehealth Clinical, GS-6 (Full Performance Level):

Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of GS-05. Experience would consist of the following: Scheduling telehealth appointments using an electronic scheduling system; obtaining and documenting patient history and pertinent clinical information in electronic medical records; preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment, establishing video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient site and provider site; monitors and maintains electronic schedule of rooms, patients, technologies, and presenters; supporting the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys; cleaning and performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology.

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: Experience as a Medical Assistant, EMT, EMS, Nursing Assistant or Home Health Aide preferred.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.

Physical 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 care sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required.