MES - Midwest Emergency Services, LLC

Our Path to Success

The birth of Midwest Emergency Services, L.L.C. paralleled the evolution of emergency medicine as a specialty, having been first recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1979.  This was the same year MES received its first contract to provide emergency medicine coding and management services from a physician group headed by Dr. William G. Grannis, who  worked for Dr. Eugene Cetnar, a pioneer in the development of hospital emergency departments in the late sixties.  Mr. Joseph L. Romain, a successful entrepreneur, provided the business acumen and established Romain Management and Associates, P.C., one of the first coding, billing, and management companies supporting emergency medicine physicians. (The company name was later changed to Midwest Emergency Services, L.L.C.)

As an innovator in the healthcare billing industry, Romain Management established a mentoring relationship with BCBS of Michigan in order to institute best billing practices.  In 1981, the company was awarded the billing and management contract from Dr. Anthony C. Southall, whose emergency care physicians staffed St. John Hospital and Medical Center, located in Detroit, Michigan.  The ED doctors at St. John Hospital and Medical Center remain clients of MES, and Dr. Southall serves as managing partner of MES today.

Recognizing a need for an alternative to dictation, which was becoming cost prohibitive for hospitals, an affiliation was formed with LYNX Medical Systems in Seattle, Washington, to provide a template ER documentation system called E/MAP.  E/MAP's cost was proven to be much less than the cost of transcription and is still preferred by many hospitals and ED physicians due to its ease and simplicity of use.  MES continues to focus on the very latest in technology and offers optimal EDIS/ EMR consultation and implementation services to its clients, who require the most efficient and cost-effective documentation tools available in the market. 

In 1991, with RBRVS methodology approaching, Romain Management was in need of a physician partner to oversee the coding process.  Dr. James M. Fox joined Dr. Southall’s physician group and immediately had an interest in the reimbursement process for emergency physicians.  In 1992, Dr. Fox, in cooperation with the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians, started the first Straight Talk conference which offered an educational symposium of nationally recognized speakers specializing in the coding and billing of physician claims.  In 2000, as a leading authority on reimbursement issues, Dr. Fox became a managing partner of the newly named Midwest Emergency Services, L.L.C.  As the volume of claims processed continued to grow, and with the addition of Dr. Fox, it was only natural for MES to become a proponent for emergency medicine reimbursement, working with many local insurance carriers as well as government payers Medicaid and Medicare.

With the passing of Mr. Romain in 2008, MES embarked on a new era as Dr. Anthony C. Southall joined Dr. James M. Fox to create a compelling leadership team offering undeniable integrity and experience.  Together they are committed to the continued growth and success of Midwest Emergency Services.  As emergency medicine physicians, they are tireless advocates for the advancement of emergency medicine and for equitable emergency physician reimbursement. 

With an established leadership team that is unsurpassed and with an extraordinarily talented staff, MES will continue on its successful path and remain the leading authority in revenue cycle management for emergency professionals.