At the age of 10, Chad E. Fragle was hospitalized for Legg-Perthes disease at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. What was a very difficult time for him and his family led to a bright and hopeful future. With the support of his family, specifically from his father, who helped start a golf tournament fundraiser to fight the disease still in existence today, Fragle was given access to administrative leaders within the hospital.
This positive exposure to the hospital administration over the years led him to earn a Masters in Health Administration and have a successful career in healthcare administration. With a background in revenue cycle management and practice management, Fragle joined ARHP to learn all aspects of the rheumatology specialty in a relatively short amount of time. “I wanted to learn as much as I could about rheumatology [and] it just made sense for me to become an ARHP member,” says Fragle, who’s been a rheumatology administrator with Rheumatology Associates in Dallas, Texas, for seven years. His employers, Stanley Cohen, MD, and Sharad Lakhanpal, MD, who encouraged him to join ARHP, are longtime members of the ACR.
As an administrator for his practice, Fragle often utilizes the ACR/ARHP member benefits offered. Access to coding and billing experts within the College allows him to facilitate learning among his physician colleagues. His office recently had an ACR staff member lead a coding presentation, which resulted in key changes to the day-to-day operations for the health professional staff. “The ACR/ARHP website is a valuable resource,” says Fragle. “I use it pretty frequently whenever I have questions for legislative updates and coding and billing information.”
From an informational and networking standpoint, interacting with other rheumatology health professionals is important. Networking and discussing issues with other rheumatology colleagues creates shared ideas that get positive results. “It is a significant benefit to all rheumatology offices to have ARHP membership available,” says Fragle, “I will be renewing my membership in 2012.”
ARHP membership is a great investment in health professionals’ education and career. Whether you are a healthcare provider, educator, researcher, or student, ARHP provides programs of education, practice, research, and advocacy and will advance the knowledge and skills of health professionals in the area of rheumatology.
Discover what more than 1,000 rheumatology health professional members already know! Visit the ACR/ARHP website at www.rheumatology.org/membership for more information about ARHP membership, or contact us at [email protected].
