Description:
We are seeking a Specialized IT Consultant (Senior Clinical Terminology & Interoperability Specialist) to support the Digital Health Standards (DHS) Program, specifically contributing to the Patients before Paperwork (Pb4P) initiative. This role will focus on advancing standards-based digital health solutions that reduce paper-based workflows (including faxing), improve clinical data quality, and enable “collect once, use many” principles across care and analytics use cases.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will work collaboratively with Agency teams and external partners to deliver standards and terminology-related components across multiple workstreams:
1. Terminology Standards & Mapping
- Confirm and validate terminology requirements for eForms within the Pb4P program
- Perform clinical terminology mapping using SNOMED CT / SNOMED CT-CA and LOINC / pCLOCD
- Support harmonization of clinical data elements across digital forms and referral workflows
- Develop and maintain terminology assets and mappings aligned with pan-Canadian standards
2. eForms & Standardized Referral Forms (SRF)
- Support the design, development, and maintenance of standardized electronic forms
- Ensure terminology integration within referral and clinical documentation workflows
- Contribute to the reduction of fax-based workflows through interoperable digital forms
3. Interoperability & Standards Implementation
- Support implementation of HL7 v2 and HL7 FHIR-based solutions
- Assess the readiness of clinical systems for standards-based data exchange
- Support integration of terminology services with clinical information systems and repositories
- Identify workflow impacts and optimize adoption of interoperable solutions
4. Standards Development & Lifecycle Support
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of digital health standards specifications
- Support testing and validation of standards-based implementations
- Provide orientation and consultation on standards adoption across stakeholders
- Engage with internal and external partners on standards alignment
5. Terminology Services & Tools
- Support the use and integration of terminology management platforms (e.g., Apelon DTS, Ontoserver, TermWorks, Shrimp)
- Assist in operationalizing terminology services within enterprise architecture
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Minimum 10+ years of hands-on experience with clinical terminology standards (SNOMED CT, LOINC)
- Strong expertise in HL7 FHIR, HL7 v2, and clinical interoperability standards
- Proven experience implementing terminology solutions in healthcare environments
- Experience within Canadian healthcare systems (acute care, primary care, and/or community care)
- Strong understanding of pan-Canadian digital health standards and EHR ecosystems
- Experience working with healthcare information systems
- Demonstrated ability to support interoperability initiatives and clinical data exchange
Technical & Professional Skills
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities
- Experience in identifying and mitigating implementation and adoption risks
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Strong stakeholder engagement and collaboration skills
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and cloud-based collaboration tools
Nice to Have
- Experience with terminology asset management tools:
- Apelon DTS
- Ontoserver
- TermWorks
- Shrimp
- Experience with Adobe XD and Figma
- Knowledge of jurisdictional EHR programs and clinical repositories
- Exposure to international digital health standards environments
Deliverables
The consultant will be responsible for delivering:
- Terminology requirements validation for eForms under Pb4P (collect once, use many model)
- Support for Standardized Referral Forms (SRF) within the eForms stream
- Contributions to:
- Terminology Services design and operations
- Terminology mapping frameworks
- Standards specification development and maintenance
- Standards orientation materials
- Testing and validation support
- Stakeholder consultation and collaboration