Residence Requirements:

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

Examples of Duties:

A Privacy Officer develops and administers a comprehensive privacy program for protecting patient health information, in accordance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and other applicable laws, regulations and accreditation standards, at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation;

Develops, implements and administers a comprehensive corporate privacy program as it relates to Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) under HIPAA;

Develops and implements policies and procedures for maintaining compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations and accreditation standards related to privacy, confidentiality and protection of health information resources;

Collaborates with legal counsel, Human Resources, corporate administration, Health Information Systems and other applicable personnel to develop and maintain required forms and documents such as consent, authorization forms and information notices;

Collaborates with Health Information Management to develop processes to protect patient rights to inspect, amend and restrict access to PHI as appropriate;

Collaborates with Health Information Technology to develop and maintain security of electronic applications for storing and providing access to PHI;

Monitors functions and operations for privacy compliance and reports status as needed;

Investigates and resolves privacy concerns in collaboration with applicable personnel;

Develops and implements a procedure for receiving, tracking, investigating and resolving privacy complaints;

Supervises monitoring and auditing of the acquisition, use and disclosure of protected health information as utilized by vendors, patients or the public;

Conducts an annual risk assessment to determine areas of vulnerability;

Develops and implements a privacy training program in conjunction with Corporate Compliance, Legal Department, Health Information Management, Health Information Technology, Human Resources and applicable personnel;

Works with the Research Committee to coordinate monitoring of data security in research protocols;

Maintains and distributes information for required records, reports and statistics;

Serves on and may lead various committees, work groups, task forces, etc. related to privacy matters;

Serves as a liaison to government entities, legal entities, community groups, etc.;

Stays current on applicable privacy laws/regulations, literature sources and industry developments.

Qualifications:

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

A.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s Degree and three (3) years of professional* experience in managing health information privacy or compliance programs; or:

B.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree and five (5) years of professional* experience managing health information privacy or compliance programs; or:

C.) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Possession of Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) certification as issued by the Compliance Certification Board (CCB) within six (6) months of appointment and maintenance throughout duration of appointment.

Notes:

1. *Professional experience is experience which requires specialized and theoretical knowledge usually acquired through college education or through that experience and other training which provides comparable knowledge. Professional experience in general involves independence of action and personal responsibility for actions.

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

3. 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: 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. Administration

These questions test for knowledge of the managerial functions involved in directing an organization or an organizational segment. These questions cover such areas as: developing objectives and formulating policies; making decisions based on the context of the administrator's position and authority; forecasting and planning; organizing; developing personnel; coordinating and informing; guiding and leading; testing and evaluating; and budgeting.

2. Educating and interacting with the public

These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact effectively with individuals and/or community groups, to educate or inform them about topics of concern, to publicize or clarify agency programs or policies, to negotiate conflicts or resolve complaints, and to represent one's agency or program in a manner in keeping with good public relations practices. Questions may also cover interacting with others in cooperative efforts of public outreach or service.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

5. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  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.