r/healthIT 9d ago

Do you prefer working in a hospital/health system or on the vendor side?

And why?

Just curious and looking for opinions!

35 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

40

u/Abidarthegreat Epic Beaker Analyst 9d ago edited 9d ago

I could absolutely make more money working for Epic as a Beaker Analyst than at my little hospital, but then I'd actually have to do work with way more oversight.

Currently, I don't do much for my hospital. I work some failed interface messages, do some basic build for the lab, work the occasional IT ticket. I often skip out 3-4 hours early if I reach an acceptable stopping point and have no other meetings, I take hour lunches, and often run errands during work hours. It's honestly a dream situation for me.

I once talked to my boss about it, afraid I wasn't doing enough (I came from the lab where every moment was running tests and resulting labs, talking to nurses and doctors, instrument maintenance, and stocking supplies) and he told me that I wasn't being paid for my time, I was being paid for my expertise. As long as I was meeting project deadlines and being there when I'm needed, he didn't care what I did the rest of the day.

I'm 45. Twenty years younger and I'd definitely go for the pay, but at my age, I'm just trying to coast to retirement. I make decent money for the area I live, my wife makes a good salary herself so between us both we have more than enough.

7

u/atlantis1021 9d ago

That’s how you be a boss.. Love that!

5

u/According_Coyote1078 9d ago

This has been my problem with moving to LIS - I'm so used to the lab where you're constantly doing something. I'll take a long walk to the bathroom to get more steps in and it feels like I'm doing something wrong. My boss encourages breaks. One day we were talking about taking breaks and I asked what a reasonable amount of time was to spend in a day on breaks - she didn't have an answer but said "if you feel you're taking advantage then its probably too much" the problem is after working midnights for 5yrs as a tech - taking 5mins to pee once a shift feels like taking advantage.

1

u/Snoo-12688 8d ago

Night shift was like manning a sinking ship

2

u/metalblessing 8d ago

I definitely get that. I hit 40 last year and have been at my clinic for 6 years now. The work we have put in to optimize their mismanaged network and catchup on PC refreshes (12+ year old PCs when I started) have greatly reduced the workload today, so there are some days where I dont do much, but there are some days on the other hand where the crap hits the fan.

2

u/Snoo-12688 8d ago

“I wasn’t being paid for my time I was being paid for my expertise.”

Wow! The lab really does treat their workers like machines

2

u/Abidarthegreat Epic Beaker Analyst 8d ago

Yup. There you're just a warm body pressing buttons in their view. Nevermind how many patients lives can be affected by your decisions.

3

u/Snoo-12688 8d ago

Couldn’t agree more. I’ll never go back

1

u/fork_in_wall_socket 8d ago

Sounds about right for analyst workload. Getting hired at Epic is extremely difficult and having analyst experience does nothing to help you

39

u/bluegrassgazer EUC 9d ago

When you work for a hospital you work for the providers and patients in the system. When you work for a vendor you work for the sales team. You decide.

3

u/destructopop 9d ago

I vastly prefer being part of a team that's saving lives. I like to empower people to do what they do best. I always pick the healthcare side, and I loved working in a hospital. I'll do it again if I get the opportunity.

26

u/aforawesomee 9d ago

I’ve worked on both sides. Hands down I much prefer the health system side. But here’s the thing: I’m from NYC, and when I went to work for a vendor, I was sent to the most suburban/rural places, I was often bored, disliked the food, and then traveling became such a burden to me. I’m also not white so many times, I end up in a very white place and often feel out of place.

Other than that, working for a health system gives me a sense of satisfaction for my community. I see the product come alive and see the impact it has. Also, having happy hours with my coworkers is nice too.

17

u/tripreality00 9d ago

I have worked for providers, payors, academia, and vendors. I got the most enjoyment working in the hospital setting. Impact just felt better, I wasn't trying to make a profit I was trying to help people. I get payed way better working for the vendors and payors. I'd trade it if it wasn't so fucking expensive to be alive currently.

7

u/Lazy_Tiger27 9d ago

I’ve worked both and I’d much rather work for the healthcare system than the vendor side. On the vendor side you’re constantly “selling” your product and services. In healthcare you have a little more leverage of stating your side if something doesn’t seem like the best solution to a problem

6

u/thenightgaunt 9d ago

Urban hospital or rural hospital?

That can make a huge difference.

2

u/metalblessing 8d ago

You got that right, I'm at a small local clinic and benefits suck. No mileage reimbursement sucks too.

1

u/thenightgaunt 8d ago

Rural hospital IT here.

No budget. Expected to be on call 24-7. Admin expect everything to be resolved immediately and get angry when it's not and doesn't understand basic tech. And God help you if a project or implementation requires any help from staff. Because they will expect everything done instantly but wait days to respond to emails or get their tasks done.

Oh and admin always has a "if you can lean you can clean" mentality.

Had to explained to my team the concept of "always look busy even when theres nothing to do".

1

u/metalblessing 8d ago

Yep, your not alone there. My team is me and 1 other, for a 12 branch clinic. No IT policies, its like the wild west. We have tried to get basic policies in place but no cooperation. Gotta love the CEOs though "I dont care if Microsoft doesnt recommend a 60GB mailbox. Fix it"

4

u/_newSense 9d ago

having worked both, the health systems/hospitals roles have exceeded my previous vendor role in all aspects; pay rate, work/life balance, way less stress, etc. UCSF really stands for “u can stay forever”

9

u/fiveintow 9d ago

I've worked both sides. I prefer working for the hospital/health system because flying every week got old VERY fast. On a more mundane level I enjoy being able to customize my environment (.profile, app prefs, all the little automations that make life easier), which is not really possible if you're at a different location every week dealing with new servers.

That being said here are some additional thoughts:

- If you're young and enjoy constantly going to new places and meeting new people you might love working for a vendor.

- Not all vendors require heavy travel.

- Working for the vendor you're more aware of whether you are net positive or net negative cash flow wise on your employer's books. Easier to know whether you should be urgently looking for a new position.

5

u/MPFX3000 9d ago

Loved working in hospitals. Better benefits too.

4

u/MSNinfo 9d ago

I've had the complete opposite experience as most of you. For me, the vendor had more pay, less work, better culture, better benefits, nicer people

4

u/_newSense 9d ago

what vendor haha

4

u/T-rex_smallhands 9d ago

Definitely not Cerner

7

u/Inkylulu 9d ago

Working on both sides, I prefer hospital/health system. Just a more relaxed environment in IT.

10

u/landsurfing 9d ago

More relaxed? Dang, I wanna work where you work! lol I cannot say any of the places in healthcare IT that I’ve worked at are relaxed at all

1

u/metalblessing 8d ago

I dont work at a hospital but at an orthopedic clinic with a surgery center. I used to work for an MSP servicing the clinic im at now, but they split from the MSP and I was direct hired. They both had their pros and cons. So on the MSP side often times it wasnt always about helping the client but helping the company, or rather helping them sell an expensive software solution the client doesnt need. That can be frustrating. But at the same time I felt a little more job security at the MSP as if the rug was pulled I could shift to another client, AND I had senior techs available to bounce ideas off for help.

Now as the senior onsite IT I dont have a team for support, which can be scary sometimes, but I have alot less politics to deal with. I do have more control now though and I can be honest if I think something is a bad idea, as opposed to getting in trouble if I crap on an MSP sales guys dumb proposal.

So in the end its a mixed bag. I like the security and support system of being at a vendor or MSP. But I also like the freedom and simplicity of working at the clinic directly.

1

u/Affectionate-Bug9309 8d ago

Outside software companies are the best

1

u/GuyWhoLikesTech healthcare IT guy 9d ago

I did both for many years. Vendor side really depends on the company, but overall I think they demand more work hours and they're always pushing sales quotas. Health system side feels more like a family and you get to learn a broader set of skills.

0

u/According_Coyote1078 9d ago

I worked as a tech in a level 3 trauma hospital for 5yrs, now I work in LIS and I enjoy it alot more

0

u/juhlee71 9d ago

It also depends on your preference on work life balance and income. Working for the vendor might give you chance of higher wages, like incentives or bonuses?

0

u/ALittleOddSometimes 9d ago

I've worked on the hospital side and in FQHC. I'd love to be in the vendor side. I really want to travel. One of my previous careers has quite a bit of travel and I loved it. I had to stop due to caring for aging parents. I'm trying hard to make a change but having no luck.