Christopher Turner, MHA
“It is an honor and a privilege to serve those who serve people in their time of need. We consider our clients, the many truly wonderful Fire and EMS providers, to be heroes. Our goal at EMERGICON is to be a hero to first responders by removing the burden of managing provider financial services, so they can focus on what they do best. We are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference for first responders."
Christoper Turner, MHA
President and CEO of EMERGICON
Here’s How EMERGICON Bridged the Financial and Human Gap in EMS Billing
CEO Christopher Turner created the Texas-based company that is a financial advisor – and friend – for EMS services
Christopher Turner takes pride in bridging the financial and human gap in EMS billing. The Founder and CEO of Texas-based EMERGICON said his company simply “removes the burden of billing off the shoulders of EMS providers.”
“When people call 911, they’re transported by ambulance. Our company receives the patient chart from the EMS provider and processes it with Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial insurance for reimbursement purposes,” Turner explained. “There’s always been a disconnect between providing the care and departments getting accurately reimbursed. We act as a financial advisor for an EMS service, by understanding the reimbursement landscape as a whole and advising the first responders we serve on how best to maximize returns on their work.”
“Helping EMS providers understand their available reimbursement is a huge part of what we do and how we uniquely do it for best results,” Turner added.
The Texan Touch
The 110-employee EMERGICON provides support to more Texas entities, including those very small towns and super rural areas – 250 total from Galveston to Terlingua and Booker to Port Aransas – than any other emergency medical billing agency in the state. That includes clients from West Texas communities transporting fewer than 50 patients per year to College Station, Georgetown, San Angelo, and Bexar Counties, and other large counties and towns.
Since founding the company in 2006, Turner has led the evolution of EMERGICON, including the recent pursuit of multiple patents protecting the underlying disruptive technology he and his team are creating.
“EMERGICON is taking a forward-leaning approach to protect and advance the intellectual capital being created,” Turner said. “EMERGICON’s pending patents protect many of the unique features and advancements that make our company a game-changer in the EMS finance industry.”
Turner is also formulating ideas for expanding EMERGICON to other states beyond Texas, which he described as a “country unto itself.”
“We want to expand in a thoughtful way,” Turner said. “As a company and as a founder, over the last two years, we have our culture, processes, and technology streamlined so much so that we’ve become the buyer in deciding who we can best support. That’s an exciting place to be. I like to focus on how we grow and help first responders by adding to what we already do well.”
Increased Patient Satisfaction & EMS Revenue
Turner loves partnering with EMS teams and entities because they’re “amazing people who deal daily with things that many of us can’t imagine. EMS professionals are a dedicated group of people who put others ahead of them all the time.”
“We hear frequently that after partnering with us, an EMS agency’s patient complaint calls fall dramatically, and they start receiving reimbursement checks from companies they’ve never even heard of. This reflects our Proven Process and how we go about creating value for First Responders. Those checks add up.”
Turner said that translates to an increase in cash flow from 10-30 percent over the course of the first year and beyond.
Healthcare Heritage & Servant Leadership
Turner set out in college to be a doctor but quickly transitioned to the business aspect of healthcare. From 2004-06, the Dallas-based Turner increased cash collection by more than $6 million as CFO for CareFlite, a nonprofit ambulance company, and then transferred those skills into launching EMERGICON in 2006. His three decades of experience include an acute care hospital, a national emergency medicine physician group, and a national commercial insurance carrier.
He loves analysis and helping his team grow, but more than that, he relishes the human aspect of leading EMERGICON and supporting healthcare providers.
“First Responders are critical to the fabric of our society, yet they are underfunded, understaffed, and overworked,” Turner said. “Most of us don’t really think of them until we need them, but when we need them, we need them right now. It’s a privilege to offer support to those who are there when we need them. Our entire company culture is based around this philosophy.”
“I was drawn to healthcare because of the humanity of it,” Turner said. “We’re dealing with EMS professionals as humans and helping them build a strong, sustainable financial future.”
For more information, visit www.emergicon.com.