Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There is one vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center. 

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

A Health Information Management Technician performing technical activities involved in the analysis, maintenance and completion of various medical records and related statistical and informational reports at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Completes medical forms such as death certificates, birth certificates and statistical reports;

Routes requests for medical information and other correspondence to appropriate person;

Assists in compilation and preparation of statistical reports;

Performs coding of diagnostic procedures, daily discharges, ambulatory surgery cases, Emergency Room records and

various other clinics;

Performs billing and charging of Evaluation/Management for Emergency Room records;

Verifies spelling of medical terms and ensures that standards established by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, relating to death certificates, are adhered to;

Assists in training lower ranking clerical personnel;

Files reports, charts and other materials;

Types minor records and reports for which skilled typing is not required;

Assists in locating and identifying records and reports;

Responds to requests for information by appropriate individuals.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A) Completion of a two (2) year college program in Medical Record Science, Health Information Technology or closely related field; or;

B) Completion of a certificate program in coding and/or billing.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Active status as a Registered Health Information Technician by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) at time of permanent appointment; or:

Possession of a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) Certificate as issued by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) at time of permanent appointment; or:

Possession of a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) Certificate or Certified Coding Associate (CCA) Certificate as issued by an authorized accrediting agency at the time of permanent appointment.

Notes:

NOTES: 1.Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of Examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Coding/decoding information

These questions test for the ability to follow a set of coding rules. Some questions will require you to code information by converting certain information into letters or numbers. Other questions will require you to decode information by determining if the information that has already been converted into letters or numbers is correct. Complete directions will be provided; no previous knowledge of or training in any coding system is required.

2. Medical terminology

These questions test for knowledge of words, phrases, and abbreviations used in medical diagnosis and therapy. Questions may cover such topics as diseases, symptoms, pharmaceuticals, medical specialties, anatomy, treatment modalities, medical supplies, and medical equipment. Prefixes and suffixes used in medical terminology may also be included.

3. Name and number checking

These questions test for the ability to distinguish between sets of words, letters, and/or numbers that are almost exactly alike. Material is usually presented in two or three columns, and you will have to determine how the entry in the first column compares with the entry in the second column and possibly the third. You will be instructed to mark your answers according to a designated code provided in the directions.

4. Office record keeping

These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

5. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test how well you comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the selections.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.