Tamara LaGrelius
Palmyra,PA
Overview
1
1
Certification
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Medical Records Administrator
Veterans Health Administration
Lebanon, USA
12.2012 - Current
- Review 500+ medical records per month, including admission H&Ps, discharge summaries, and operative reports, ensuring adherence to VHA guidelines and Joint Commission standards.
- Maintain documentation integrity for a facility serving ~800 clinicians (physicians, PAs, NPs, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, social workers).
- Manage datasets ranging from hundreds to thousands of files, supporting compliance, reporting, and operational decision-making.
- Led ~12 workflow redesigns over 6 years, improving efficiency, compliance, and staff usability.
- Reduced unsigned documentation by 95% within 9 months through targeted interventions and provider education.
- Designed digital routing workflows with ECFax, cutting paper entering the scanning department by 50% within months.
- Improved document receipt time from 5 days to 1–2 days, with continued downward trend (formal results pending).
- Created daily discharge and surgical case trackers to ensure complete capture of documentation.
- Chair and Co-Chair of two committees (Medical Records Committee, Forms Subcommittee) with ~15 members each, totaling 168 meetings over 6 years.
- Revised key governance documents: Medical Records Committee charter, Forms Subcommittee application process, Medical Records facility policy.
- Lead cross-department collaboration with: HIM, HAS, ASU, Nursing, IT, Informatics, Behavioral Health, Radiology, Laboratory, Clergy, Medicine, Pharmacy, Primary Care, Surgery, Community Clinics, Social Work.
- Delivered 3 Joint Commission presentations (1 every 3 years).
- Delivered 3 regional education presentations to VISN-level audiences.
- Develop educational materials to improve provider, nurse, and staff documentation quality.
- Selected as an AI workflow tester for VA; trained Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT to identify bottlenecks and optimize HIM workflows.
- Tested workflows to reduce ICD-9 usage in problem lists and decrease paper reliance for fax/test result printing.
- Identified bottlenecks such as staff buy-in, change fatigue, and resistance to modernization.
- Implemented digital automation reducing paper usage and accelerating scanning workflows.
- Maintain Joint Commission readiness through continuous review of standards and updates.
- Conduct HIPAA privacy/security audits ensuring minimum-necessary access.
- Apply multiple VHA directives including: 1907.01 Health Information Management & Health Records, 1605.01 Privacy & Release of Information, 1907.05 Catastrophic Edits to Patient Identity, 1907.08 Health Care Information Security Policy, 1907.07 File Room & Scanning Management, Records Control Schedule 10-1.
- All project timelines met across multi-year initiatives.
- Stakeholders include VAMC leadership, community hospitals, patients, families, visitors, regulatory agencies, providers, and staff.
- Identify risks, perform analysis, plan responses, eliminate, reduce, transfer, or prepare for risks, continuous monitoring and communication.
- Maintain detailed documentation of risks and responses, ensure all project outcomes align with organizational goals; adjust when needed.
- Federal Service: 14 years | Role: 5 years
- Detailed as Interim Facility Records Officer for one year.
- Earned HAS Star of the Month honor.
- Gained recognition as Subject Matter Expert (SME) in HIM and Records Management.
- Led the paper reduction project as a co-leader.
- Received Outstanding or Exceptional performance ratings for 13 of 14 years.
Education
Master of Science - Healthcare Informatics
University of Central Florida
05-2027
Bachelor of Science - Health Information Management
Southern New Hampshire University
04-2025
High School Diploma -
Palmyra Area Senior High School
Palmyra, PA06-1991
Skills
- Health Information Management
- Documentation Integrity
- Data Governance
- Workflow Optimization
- Process Improvement
- Regulatory Compliance
- EHR Optimization
- Project Management
- AI-Enabled Innovation
- Training & Education
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- EHR Systems: VistA
- EHR Systems: CPRS
- EHR Systems: ECFax
- EHR Systems: JLV
- Data Tools: Excel (advanced)
- Data Tools: Access
- Data Tools: SQL
- Data Tools: Power BI
- Data Tools: R
- AI Tools: Copilot
- AI Tools: Claude
- AI Tools: ChatGPT
- Project Tools: MS Project
- Project Tools: SharePoint
Certification
- Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), AHIMA, 10/25
- CAHIMS/CPHIMS; CAPM/PMP, Spring 2027
Technical Skills
VistA, CPRS, ECFax, JLV, Excel (advanced), Access, SQL, Power BI, R, Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, MS Project, SharePoint
Timeline
Medical Records Administrator
Veterans Health Administration
12.2012 - Current
Master of Science - Healthcare Informatics
University of Central Florida
Bachelor of Science - Health Information Management
Southern New Hampshire University
High School Diploma -
Palmyra Area Senior High School