Lead Terminologist

Customer Value Partners

4d

About The Position

The Lead Terminologist manages clinical terminology systems and ensures accurate mapping and maintenance of standardized healthcare vocabularies across VA's dual EHR environment (VistA/CPRS and Oracle Health). This role is critical to semantic interoperability, clinical decision support, data quality, and analytics supporting Electronic Health Record Modernization across 170+ VA Medical Centers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required in Health Informatics, Health Information Management, Computer Science, Linguistics, Library Science, Biomedical Informatics, or related field
• Minimum 5 years in clinical terminology management, healthcare vocabularies, or health informatics
• Minimum 2 years in a lead or senior terminology role
• Proven experience with SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, and terminology mapping
• Experience with EHR systems, preferably Oracle Health (Millennium/Cerner) and/or VistA/CPRS
• Healthcare industry experience required; federal healthcare or VA experience preferred
• Deep knowledge of SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, NDC, HCPCS, and UMLS (Unified Medical Language System)
• Understanding of HL7, FHIR, CDA, and healthcare data exchange standards
• Experience with Oracle Health and/or VistA terminology infrastructure
• Proficiency with terminology browsers/editors (SNOMED CT Browser, UMLS Metathesaurus, LOINC, RxNorm Navigator), mapping tools, and terminology servers
• SQL querying, data analytics tools, and ability to analyze terminology usage patterns

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred in Health Informatics or Clinical Informatics
• Clinical background advantageous (nursing, pharmacy, medical technology, HIM)
• Preferred Certifications: RHIA, RHIT, CAHIMS, CPHIMS, or terminology-specific certifications

Responsibilities

• Lead management and maintenance of clinical terminology systems including SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, and other standardized vocabularies
• Oversee terminology mapping between VistA/CPRS and Oracle Health platforms to ensure data consistency and interoperability
• Develop and maintain terminology subsets, value sets, and reference sets aligned with VA clinical requirements
• Coordinate terminology updates, version releases, and impact assessments across enterprise systems
• Ensure terminology governance aligns with national and international standards (UMLS, FHIR, HL7)
• Conduct terminology gap analysis and validate mappings for accuracy, completeness, and clinical appropriateness
• Support semantic interoperability enabling data exchange across VA systems and external partners
• Collaborate with clinical SMEs and informatics teams to integrate terminology into EHR workflows, clinical decision support (CDS), order sets, alerts, and documentation templates
• Monitor and resolve terminology-related data quality issues affecting clinical documentation, orders, and analytics
• Develop terminology guidelines and best practices for consistent use across clinical domains
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to terminology analysts and junior staff
• Facilitate terminology work groups with clinical, informatics, and technical stakeholders
• Coordinate with VA Terminology Services, national terminology authorities (NLM, SNOMED International, Regenstrief Institute), and vendor partners
• Participate in SAFe® Agile ceremonies supporting two-week iteration cycles and quarterly Program Increments
• Create and maintain comprehensive terminology documentation including mapping specifications, guidelines, SOPs, and training materials

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level