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05-13-2010, 07:11 PM
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12 posts, read 25,488 times
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Anybody have any experience in Medical Billing? I have a B.S in CIS but cannot seem to find a good job. I'd like to get into a hospital environment (in IT) but can't ever seem to get any returns from hospitals.
The local CC here has a Medical Billing program and some friends said it would be a good foot into the medial environment for an IT guy.
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05-15-2010, 06:33 PM
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12 posts, read 25,488 times
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Nobody? Should I post this in Education rather then?
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05-16-2010, 03:49 PM
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274 posts, read 967,485 times
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from your post, i'm taking that "CIS" is computer information systems, which is essentially similar (or the same as) MIS or IT. that said, do you have any experience in hospital billing and/or collections? or are you looking strictly at the IT side of the house at a hospital? i'm asking because those are two extremely different career paths. obviously the billing piece involves hospital revenue and getting the correct payments out to insurance companies and to patients. the IT support side can involve anything from server/data management to a technical analyst for hospital/insurance claims.
from personal experience, i know that hospitals are extremely picky in terms of who they want to bring on board to their facilities... this stems from an old traditional mindset of hiring within because you have people who have worked at hospitals for 20-30+ years. so even though there are multiple job postings out there available for public viewing, those positions commonly are filled by an internal applicant by virtue of a promotion or a division change. however, not ALL hospitals follow this practice, especially your newer hospital systems.
speaking of IT, most hospital employers want new emerging technologies to help their bottom line so they do hire a lot of IT support people but they all typically have hospital host system experience and/or come from healthcare background, while understanding certain hospital technical jargon like cerner, AS400, EDI, 835/837 transactions, etc.
i hope this helps.
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05-16-2010, 05:09 PM
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12 posts, read 25,488 times
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Yeah, CIS is Computer Information Systems, same as an IT or MIS degree (though MIS, at least in my experience, is typically a masters level program).
The reason I'd think of doing a 2 year program is just for the reason of them hiring internally. It is hard to get a hospital job. My degree is from a normal old state college, and my internship was pretty weak in terms of the hardware side (mostly programming, data entry and support). I've applied to all of the hospitals nearby and even out of state ones that I find (obviously ongoing), and haven't yet even got an interview request. Most of them come back an hour later with a canned response saying "you don't fit the requirements" or some such.
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05-16-2010, 05:26 PM
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274 posts, read 967,485 times
Reputation: 152
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hmm... i understand how that can be frustrating. trust me, i've experienced that myself as i'm applying for other healthcare jobs as well. however, while i do agree that it is difficult in your situation to land a hospital job there are ways of making it happen, which isn't far fetched.
i think there still opportunities out there to get your foot in the door in hospital (healthcare) IT. have you considered working at a healthcare consulting firm? i'm not going to lie - those firms are fast paced and typically the work environment is really sink or swim because they need to quickly adapt to the changing requirements of their hospital/clinic clients. i'm suggesting this because even though you probably wouldn't be working "IN" a hospital facility, you can gain your experience and understanding of hospital systems by working directly with the hospital clients the consulting firms have. that way, you can get your niche in eventually working in a hospital setting - not to mention, you'd have some internal contacts too while you're at it 
now let me elaborate when i say hospital consulting firms... a lot focus on different areas to help a hospital and others do all (ie. revenue cycle management, technical systems implementation, etc.). companies that come to mind are GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical, Accenture, Deloitte, Stockamp and Associates, just to name a few. most of these companies look for people that have had project management, IT, accounting, billing, and/or implementation experience... not necessarily with a healthcare emphasis.
it sounds like you are trying to keep your options open and trying to make things work. i'm recommending this for you because i think that will create a solid foundation for you to truly understand the hospital setting even before working there physically. then you can bounce to an actual facility after you gain the necessary knowledge and experience.
good luck! |
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05-16-2010, 05:42 PM
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660 posts, read 1,483,678 times
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I think the OP is being hurt by the fact that (s)he has a BS in CIS AND has, and I agree with the OP, a relatively weak internship experience.
It just seems to me that with CS, CIS, MIS, etc. employers want the moon, the stars and everything in between when it comes to skills and experience, when what REALLY gets the person hired is "having an in" to the organization. I don't think any other career field out there is so unrealistic in its expectations of prospective employees.
You could try to enter the field of horse farming by applying for a mucking position. To the stable manager doing the hiring, if you can pick up a shovel and have a strong back YOU'RE IN!
If an IT manager was hiring for the same position the ad would probably look something like "Must be familiar with all types of shovels, have 10 years experience shoveling horse sh**, and be certified in the handling of all the latest fertilizer products".
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05-16-2010, 05:47 PM
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274 posts, read 967,485 times
Reputation: 152
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ColorsOfMe
I think the OP is being hurt by the fact that (s)he has a BS in CIS AND has, and I agree with the OP, a relatively weak internship experience.
It just seems to me that with CS, CIS, MIS, etc. employers want the moon, the stars and everything in between when it comes to skills and experience, when what REALLY gets the person hired is "having an in" to the organization. I don't think any other career field out there is so unrealistic in its expectations of prospective employees.
You could try to enter the field of horse farming by applying for a mucking position. To the stable manager doing the hiring, if you can pick up a shovel and have a strong back YOU'RE IN!
If an IT manager was hiring for the same position the ad would probably look something like "Must be familiar with all types of shovels, have 10 years experience shoveling horse sh**, and be certified in the handling of all the latest fertilizer products".
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totally agree with you, but i don't think it's just IT though. right now with the job market being what it is, i think employers have the luxury of having a huge applicant pool to pick and choose from. they can take all the time in the world to select that 'best fit' one that has all kinds of skills and seasoned experiences.
however even though employers post all these required skills and experiences for a position, in the OP's case, i still think that they can get their foot in the door through this different avenue i suggested above. it may not be easy, but i think it's more plausible to hear a response that way versus applying to a hospital facility directly. |
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05-18-2010, 11:29 AM
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Location: Duluth, Minnesota, USA
7,652 posts, read 17,368,596 times
Reputation: 6884
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biermensch
Yeah, CIS is Computer Information Systems, same as an IT or MIS degree (though MIS, at least in my experience, is typically a masters level program).
The reason I'd think of doing a 2 year program is just for the reason of them hiring internally. It is hard to get a hospital job. My degree is from a normal old state college, and my internship was pretty weak in terms of the hardware side (mostly programming, data entry and support). I've applied to all of the hospitals nearby and even out of state ones that I find (obviously ongoing), and haven't yet even got an interview request. Most of them come back an hour later with a canned response saying "you don't fit the requirements" or some such.
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Having a BS in CIS, you probably have a lot of prerequisites for a health information management or HIM (as we called it at my alma mater, St. Scholastica) program, which may go by other names in different schools. If you cannot find work at a hospital with your CIS degree (and because medical records or HIM requires a lot of specialized knowledge, I don't think they'd be too keen on hiring a CIS major), you could probably take just HIM courses at a university and be done in 3-4 semesters, and be ready to take your HIM certification exam. |
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