Originally published in The Rheumatologist
If you had asked Ray Waldrup in 1981 what he would be doing in 2018, serving as the CEO of the largest rheumatology practice in the U.S. would probably not have been his first guess. Back then, as a young college student in Georgia, Mr. Waldrup took a job at a national jewelry retailer and quickly worked his way up to sales, then management. Enjoying his success, he ultimately decided to leave school to pursue a lucrative business career.
“Bill Gates and I dropped out of different schools together,” he jokes. “I started making money, and I never looked back.”
The Business of Medicine
Today, he runs South Carolina-based Articularis Healthcare, which boasts 12 locations in two states. The rheumatology group employs roughly 240 people, including 26 rheumatologists, 12 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and a pathologist.
“We relieve a lot of the business stress for physicians,” Mr. Waldrup explains. “A lot of them profess to understand it, but if you’re seeing patients all day you don’t have time to keep up with the business side.”
