This month’s column provides information on two valuable but little-known American College of Surgeons (ACS) benefits: the ACS Surgery Career Connection, a robust resource for members who are seeking a career change or looking to fill a position that launched September 1; and the ACS Coding Hotline, which provides members a consultation service to stay informed regarding changes in claims coding and billing rules.
ACS Surgery Career Connection
The new ACS Surgery Career Connection—where the member provides the expertise, and the College provides the connection—is one of the most effective ways to connect employers from across the country with qualified surgeons of all surgical specialties and at every career stage. Powered by YourMembership, a leading provider of job websites and career centers for professional organizations, the mobile-responsive platform makes accessing Surgery Career Connection effortless across all Internet-enabled devices.
With this platform, surgeons are able to post multiple resumes and cover letters or create a career profile that leads potential employers directly to them. When a resume is set as “public,” employers can access the candidate’s resume. When institutions, health systems, or practices are interested in recruiting a specific candidate, the employer completes a contact request form. If the candidate agrees, his or her contact information is released to the employer. If not, they reject the request, which keeps the identity of the candidate private.
With Surgery Career Connection Job Alerts, individuals seeking new career opportunities receive an e-mail every time a job that matches their desired interests and locations becomes available. Surgeons also have the option of searching the jobs database, which is equipped with robust filters to focus on the individual’s specific interests. Along with searching for jobs, surgeons have access to Surgery Career Connection career resources, including suggestions for compiling a curriculum vitae, interview guidelines, sample resumes, answers to frequently asked questions, and more.
Surgery Career Connection provides many benefits to employers by helping them recruit top surgeons for their institutions and practices. Employers have the option of including their open positions in a bimonthly e-mail sent to all ACS-registered job seekers, allowing them to reach both active and passive job seekers by putting open jobs directly in the in-boxes of qualified surgeons.
Aside from online exposure, employers have the opportunity to include their open positions in various ACS member e-mail newsletters that exclusively reach ACS members. Job posting opportunities are available to ACS members at discounted prices.
“The American College of Surgeons is a world-class organization whose members and Fellows are an integral part of the country’s health care delivery system,” said Tristan Jordan, senior vice-president, YourMembership Careers. “Surgery Career Connection is an innovative gateway that matches the right health care providers with the right surgical talent to help keep surgical facilities well-staffed, and surgeons’ careers moving along a professional path that meets their goals.”
For more information on how to start the journey toward enhancing your career or organization, visit the Surgery Career Connection, or go to the ACS home page and click the Jobs tab at the top of the page.
ACS Coding Hotline
Accurate coding may be one of the most important areas for surgical practice improvement. However, keeping up with the constant changes in claims coding can be time-consuming and costly. To help alleviate these concerns, the College has established a coding consultation service hotline. ACS members can call the ACS Coding Hotline for answers to questions related to the following code sets and coding issues:
- Current Procedural Terminology
- Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System Level II
- 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases
- Evaluation and Management coding
- National Correct Coding Initiative edits
- Correct modifier usage
- Difficult-to-code operative reports
Confirmation of ACS membership is required to obtain hotline assistance, so be prepared to provide your Member ID number to the hotline staff. If you need your Member ID number, contact ms@facs.org. ACS Coding Hotline services are provided and measured in consultation units (CUs). One CU covers a period of up to 10 minutes. ACS members are provided with up to five free CUs each calendar year. Unused CUs cannot be rolled over to the next year; however, additional CUs can be purchased.
Answers to coding questions are provided verbally over the phone. If it is necessary to submit an operative note for review, it must be pre-coded. Submitted operative reports may require additional time for review. If the answer to your question is not readily available, it will be referred for research; it may take up to 10 business days for a response.
The hours of operation are 9:00 am–6:00 pm EST Monday–Friday. Calls are returned within 24 hours. To access a coding specialist, call the ACS Coding Hotline at 800-ACS-7911 (800-227-7911).
We encourage members to take the time to become familiar with Surgery Career Connection and the Coding Hotline so that these member benefits will become valued and trusted resources when users need them the most.
