Senior Systems Manager, Paragon Applications - Onsite at Houston Physicians Hospital in Webster, TX

The Senior Systems Manager, Paragon Applications is responsible for the leadership, administration, support, optimization, and strategic direction of the Altera Digital Health Paragon Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform across a multi-site healthcare organization. This role oversees application analysts and support personnel while ensuring the reliability, integrity, security, and performance of the Paragon ecosystem supporting clinical, financial, patient accounting, and revenue cycle operations.

The Senior Systems Manager serves as the primary technical and operational leader for Paragon applications across Houston Physicians Hospital, partnering with executive leadership, clinical stakeholders, revenue cycle teams, infrastructure teams, interface analysts, and third-party vendors to support organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and manage the Paragon application support team responsible for clinical, financial, and revenue cycle systems.
• Establish team goals, performance expectations, and professional development plans.
• Provide mentoring, coaching, and technical guidance to analysts and support staff.
• Manage resource allocation, project priorities, and support coverage across multiple facilities.
• Ensure compliance with IT service management, change control, and operational standards.

Application Support & Operations

• Oversee daily production support activities for the Paragon EHR environment.
• Ensure timely resolution of application incidents, service requests, and system issues.
• Serve as escalation point for complex application, database, workflow, and integration issues.
• Monitor system performance and coordinate corrective actions to maintain optimal system availability.
• Lead root cause analysis efforts and implement long-term solutions to recurring problems.

System Configuration & Maintenance

• Manage application configuration, security administration, and system functionality.
• Oversee role-based security, user provisioning, and access management.
• Coordinate software upgrades, patches, enhancements, and vendor-recommended updates.
• Ensure application configurations align with operational workflows and organizational standards.
• Maintain application documentation and configuration records.

Clinical, Financial & Revenue Cycle Support

• Support business functions including: 
  • Patient Registration
  • Clinical Documentation
  • Patient Accounting
  • Charge Capture
  • Billing and Collections
  • Revenue Integrity
  • Financial Reporting
• Collaborate with operational leaders to optimize workflows and improve system utilization.
• Evaluate enhancement requests and prioritize based on organizational needs and business value.
• Ensure data accuracy and integrity throughout clinical and financial processes.
  • Integration & Interface Management
• Partner with interface, interoperability, and infrastructure teams to support system integrations.
• Oversee troubleshooting and resolution of HL7, interface, and data exchange issues.
• Collaborate with vendors and third-party support organizations to resolve technical problems.
• Monitor interface performance and ensure reliable exchange of clinical and financial information.

Database & Data Analysis

• Utilize SQL queries and data analysis techniques to investigate issues and support decision-making.
• Analyze application databases and data structures to identify root causes of operational problems.
• Validate data movement between integrated systems.
• Support reporting, auditing, and performance improvement initiatives.

Testing, Quality Assurance & Change Management

• Lead application testing efforts for upgrades, patches, new functionality, and workflow changes.
• Develop and oversee test plans, scripts, and validation procedures.
• Ensure production readiness and successful deployment of system changes.
• Maintain compliance with organizational change management policies.
• Coordinate user acceptance testing (UAT) activities.

Documentation & Training

• Develop and maintain system documentation, standard operating procedures, and knowledge articles.
• Ensure technical and operational documentation remains current and accurate.
• Support end-user training initiatives and adoption of best practices.
• Facilitate communication regarding system changes, outages, and enhancements.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Healthcare Informatics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Equivalent combination of education, certifications, and relevant healthcare IT experience may be considered.

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of healthcare information systems experience.
• Minimum 2+ years supporting the Paragon EHR platform.
• Minimum 3 years of leadership, supervisory, or team management experience.
• Experience supporting multi-facility healthcare organizations.
• Experience with clinical, financial, and revenue cycle applications within an acute care environment.

Required Technical Skills

• Advanced knowledge of Altera Digital Health Paragon applications.
• Strong SQL querying and database analysis skills.
• Knowledge of healthcare data structures and workflows.
• Experience with HL7 interfaces and healthcare interoperability standards.
• Understanding of Windows Server environments.
• Experience with application security administration and role-based access controls.
• Familiarity with ITIL service management practices.
• Experience with incident management, problem management, and change management processes.
• Knowledge of revenue cycle management and patient accounting systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Healthcare IT certifications.
• ITIL certification.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Experience with healthcare analytics and reporting tools.
• Experience supporting cloud-hosted healthcare applications and integrations.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Leadership
• Healthcare Operations Knowledge
• Revenue Cycle Expertise
• Clinical Workflow Optimization
• Problem Solving & Root Cause Analysis
• Customer Service Excellence
• Team Development
• Project Management
• Vendor Management
• Communication & Relationship Building
• Organizational Planning
• Change Leadership

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Application uptime and availability
• Incident response and resolution times
• User satisfaction scores
• Successful software upgrades and implementations
• Reduction in recurring application issues
• Interface reliability and error reduction
• Change management compliance
• Revenue cycle workflow stability and performance
• Documentation completeness and accuracy
• Team performance and employee engagement

Work Environment

This position supports a healthcare environment and may require occasional after-hours support for major system upgrades, critical incidents, and planned maintenance activities. The Senior Systems Manager must effectively balance operational support, strategic initiatives, regulatory requirements, and stakeholder expectations while ensuring the continued optimization of the Paragon EHR ecosystem.

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