********************Amendment Issued 9-19-18********************

Please see below under QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST

**********************Application Fee Waiver**********************

Employees of Erie County CSEA collective bargaining unit shall have all fees associated with County provided promotional civil service examinations waived.

Residence Requirements:

THIS EXAMINATION IS OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES OF THE ERIE COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION. At present there is one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

The eligible list resulting from this examination will not supersede currently existing promotional eligible lists for this title, if any. The duration of all promotional eligible lists is four years from date of establishment unless otherwise indicated.

Examples of Duties:

A Patient Access Services Representative performs a variety of clerical functions related to the registration of patients for clinical, surgical, inpatient and ancillary departments at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation;

Pre-registers and/or registers patients for Emergency Room, clinics, inpatient, surgical and ancillary services using computer information systems;

Schedules patients' appointments, gathers demographic information including payer information and inputs into computer information systems;

Obtains insurance information required for hospital billing, including completion of the Medicare Secondary Payer Questionnaire; inputs information into the electronic computerized system 

Verifies third party payers using telephone or online verification systems 

Determines insurance co-payments due from patient at time of service; collects required amounts at time of preregistration and/or registration and issues receipts;

Identifies and interview patients without insurance to asses qualifications for government entitlement programs or uncompensated charity care programs in accordance with hospital policy;

Negotiates contractual payment plans; Obtains signatures on various forms;

 Maintains and updates patient records in computer information systems;

 Provides feedback to appropriate person of missing/incorrect information so it can be obtained at the point of service;

Provides patients with information and responds to inquiries regarding scheduling, registration, payment and repayment services;

Identifies related issues and works with other departments and outside entities to resolve;

Operates Bed Board system assigning beds appropriate to specifications, hospital transfers, direct admissions and various bed board functions;

Complies with applicable federal and state regulatory agency guidelines, including HIPAA privacy standards, established departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance, safety, environmental and infection control standards.

Qualifications:

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST: Candidates must be permanently employed in the competitive class and must be serving and have served continuously on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class for 12 months immediately preceding the date of the written test in a Clerical position as  Job Grade I, II, III or IV  and in addition the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

********************Amendment Issued 9-19-18********************

Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and one (1) year of clerical experience* (see Note 2) in patient admissions, patient registration, patient appointment scheduling, health insurance verification, health insurance eligibility or health insurance processing in a healthcare setting or third party payer setting.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements

2. *Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree may be substituted for the required qualifying experience.  

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: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Operations with Letters and Numbers

These questions test for skills and abilities in clerical operations involving alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting. The questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

4. Public contact principles and practices

These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact with other people, to gather and present information, and to provide assistance, advice, and effective customer service in a courteous and professional manner. Questions will cover such topics as understanding and responding to people with diverse needs, perspectives, personalities, and levels of familiarity with agency operations, as well as acting in a way that both serves the public and reflects well on your agency.

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.

INFORMATION FOR PROMOTION CANDIDATES

Unless otherwise indicated, the eligible list resulting from this examination will have a duration of four years and will not supersede existing promotional lists, if any.

RATINGS REQUIRED:  Test is rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70.  Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.

Points will be added to scores of candidates who achieve a passing mark as follows: Seniority:  For each year of service in the classified service:

Less than 1 year……………………..................…0 points

1 year up to 6 years…………….…........................1 point

Over 6 years up to 11 years.....………......….........2 points

Over 11 years up to 16 years….…........….........…3 points

Over 16 years up to 21 years………..................…4 points

Over 21 years………………………..................…5 points

VETERANS:  Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 5 and 2.5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination.  You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment.  If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A None 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.