Job Description:
The Orthopedics Clinical Lead brings deep hands-on experience in outpatient orthopedics and musculoskeletal care delivery and practice operations to guide product development, implementation, and sales. This role serves as a clinical subject matter expert responsible for ensuring orthopedic, physical therapy, and occupational therapy workflows are clinically appropriate, operationally effective, and aligned with patient safety and regulatory expectations. The successful applicant will partner closely with product management, design, and development teams to ensure our healthcare IT solutions reflect real-world clinical musculoskeletal workflows, orthopedic device integrations, and operational realities. Furthermore, this individual will collaborate directly with implementation and sales teams to support client onboarding, product positioning, and clinical alignment during the commercial cycle.
- Represent real-world outpatient musculoskeletal care delivery models, workflows, and operational practices within orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, physical therapy, and occupational therapy settings.
- Engage orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, clinical assistants, and practice administrators through site visits, workshops, discovery sessions, and virtual engagements.
- Serve as a trusted specialty advisor during product discovery, validation, and prioritization activities.
- Provide practical insight into specialty-specific workflows including examination and evaluation, diagnostic imaging, injection and in-office procedure documentation, fracture care, surgery planning, post-operative rehabilitation pathways, physical & occupational therapy, etc.
- Translate musculoskeletal regulatory, operational, and clinical requirements—for example 90-day surgical global period tracking, therapy cap limitations, and prior authorization rules—into clear, actionable guidance for product management, design, and engineering teams.
- Support cross-functional alignment by clearly communicating orthopedics and rehabilitation therapy requirements to technical and non-technical audiences, including sales and implementation.
- Lead musculoskeletal-focused discussions, addressing workflow, compliance, and operational considerations with internal and external stakeholders.
- Travel to customer and partner sites as needed to support field engagement and product discovery.
- Perform other duties that support the overall objective of the position.
Education Required:
- Required: Clinical degree and active or prior clinical licensure/certification in a healthcare profession relevant to the specialty area (e.g., Advanced Practice Provider, RN, PharmD, LCSW, PsyD, PT, OT, or equivalent clinical credential).
- Required: Clinical degree and active or prior clinical licensure/certification in a musculoskeletal or sports medicine profession (e.g., Doctor of Medicine [MD] or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine [DO] specializing in Orthopedics or Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation [PM&R] or related specialty, Physician Assistant [PA], or Advanced Practice Provider [NP/APRN], Physical Therapist [PT], Occupational Therapist [OT], or equivalent clinical credential.
- Preferred: Advanced degree in healthcare, clinical informatics, healthcare administration, public health, business, or related field.
Note: Or any combination of education and experience which would provide the required qualifications.
Experience Required
- Minimum of 5 years of direct clinical, care delivery, or practice operations experience within an outpatient orthopedics, physical medicine, or sports medicine setting required.
- Demonstrated deep understanding of the unique clinical workflows, documentation needs, and progress-tracking requirements across outpatient physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) disciplines
- Experience using ambulatory orthopedic or rehab therapy EHR systems in active clinical or operational workflows required.
- Experience engaging directly with orthopedic providers, rehab therapists, cast technicians, and operational leaders in real-world practice environments, from front office through surgical leadership.
- Experience collaborating with or advising product, design, or technology teams in a healthcare environment is preferred.
License/Certification Required
- Active or previously active clinical licensure/certification in a musculoskeletal, orthopedic, or rehab therapy discipline (e.g., MD/DO, PA-C, NP, RN, PT, OT, or ATC).
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Knowledge Of:
- Specialty-specific orthopedic and rehab workflows, including physician-led surgical planning, joint-specific physical exams (e.g., ROM, special tests), therapist-led SOAP evaluations, and therapeutic exercise flowsheets.
- In-office procedure workflows such as joint injections, fracture reduction, casting/splinting, and DMEPOS (Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies) dispensing.
- Integration of imaging studies (e.g., X-ray, MRI, ultrasound reports) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) (e.g., KOOS, HOOS, DASH, Oswestry Disability Index) within the patient chart.
- Healthcare documentation standards, surgical and physical therapy regulatory reporting (including timed CPT codes, 8-minute rule, and GP/GO modifiers), and compliance requirements (e.g., MIPS, value-based care).
Skill In:
- Communicating complex musculoskeletal clinical and operational concepts (such as global surgical billing and therapy compliance) to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Facilitating discussions, workshops, and feedback sessions with orthopedic surgeons, physical/occupational therapists, and practice managers.
- Translating specialized musculoskeletal workflows (such as anatomical joint injection mapping, longitudinal ROM tracking, and therapist goal banks) into structured product design inputs.
- Influencing product decisions through domain credibility, clinical expertise, and real-world musculoskeletal care insight.
Ability To:
- Establish trust and credibility with orthopedic providers, rehabilitation therapists, and clinic administrators.
- Engage and influence diverse stakeholder groups across various roles and environments.
- Adapt communication style to clinical, operational, technical, mission-driven, and complex settings.
- Work effectively in a cross-functional product environment.
- Travel may be required up to 25%.
The company has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the company reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the company may deem appropriate.
NextGen Healthcare is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
