We’ve got a hero in our midst.

Well, we always knew he was a neat guy and great boss, but now he’s an official, bona fide hero.
The Nashville Business Journal has just named our own Christopher Parks one of a handful of Healthcare Heroes. In a market like Nashville that arguably has been a healthcare Mecca for several decades now, that’s a pretty big deal. CP was tapped in the “Innovator” category — a professional who is breaking new ground in the medical arena through a new advancement or an improvement of efficiencies or a current initiative.

Many of you are well familiar with Christopher’s story… which is intertwined with the change:healthcare story.

In 2006, Christopher lost both parents to cancer. In working through the piles of medical bills, invoices and EOBs that accompanied their care, he found himself unable to make heads or tails of all the paperwork. Despite having worked seventeen years in the healthcare industry, CP learned that sorting through mountains of medical bills and related documents was more than frustrating. It was almost impossible. And not nearly as much fun as a colonoscopy.

After reasoning that the healthcare system shouldn’t be this confusing, nor its paperwork so overwhelming, he united a variety of programmers and created something he called MedBillManager, a web-based tool aimed at helping consumers organize, track and manage their medical bills. Those of you who have been with us since the early days will recall this product, which also helped users compare healthcare costs and quality with peers in secure confidence.

The product put consumers back in the healthcare driver seat just as the new dynamic of consumer-driven healthcare was gaining traction. So joining with fellow entrepreneur Robert Hendrick, who had his own story to tell concerning challenges with the industry, Christopher created change:healthcare and transformed MedBillManager into the “change:healthcare bill management tool.”

With a focus to promote transparency in the healthcare industry by following the dollar for the consumer.

You know the rest. Today, the company provides cost and quality information about providers, prescriptions, health issues and insurances to consumers to help them better understand and navigate the healthcare system. But Christopher has also been lead us toward employers, as well, to help them help employees take control of their healthcare benefits… and make smarter decisions that save everyone time and money.

A little over a year later, more than 15,000 users are sharing vital information concerning more than 2.5 million providers and 10,000 medical services through the change:healthcare platform.

And it all started with a guy who didn’t like the way the healthcare system overwhelmed him. A healthcare hero.

And I knew him when…..