September 12, 2024
Dr. Haga works as a family physician in Cornelius and serves as the Clinic Director and Director of Advocacy and Health Systems Education at the Novant Health Family Medicine Residency Program.
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“I got my undergraduate degree in business management,” she says. “My mom and grandfather both owned their own businesses, so doing something in business was a natural choice. In the process of doing that, I started doing a lot of reading about health care and the structure from a financial and consumer standpoint. It was wild to me how difficult obtaining care as a consumer was, and also that we could have so much money and revenue in health care, but not have outcomes that matched or surpassed other industrialized countries.” As Dr. Haga continued to study the American medical system, she encountered the harmful effects of medical debt. “I realized that the number one cause of bankruptcy was medical debt. I started realizing how many people I knew who were not receiving the care that they should because of their concern for cost of obtaining medical care,” she says. “I felt pretty disturbed by it.”
During this time, she started working on projects on the health system during her business courses. “I heard from many how health systems were run by businesspeople but how health care was run by clinicians, and how these two groups didn’t run in conjunction with each other,” Dr. Haga says. “So with that in mind, I thought, ‘I need to become a physician, because I already understand some business, and then I’m going to start helping this system improve.” She continued studying health systems after she graduated from Arizona State University. For four years, Dr. Haga worked in business development at a small company, working with researchers and medical device manufacturers, where she also improved her real-world business acumen.
When she began medical school at the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM), eager to make changes, Dr. Haga found that she had plenty to learn about medicine first. “It was embarrassing how little I knew about medicine at the start,” she says. “I didn’t understand any of the med school process, and I didn’t even know until my second year of school what a resident was. I was just there because I was so excited to make a difference in the health care system.” But by her third-year rotations, she had gotten her feet under her and knew how she was going to continue her work: Family Medicine.
“When I was learning more about health care from the clinician’s standpoint,” Dr. Haga says, “I saw how essential a primary care physician was to all the moving parts. Patients’ health outcomes are better when they have a family physician, and the cost to the health systems becomes more contained when family physicians truly quarterback patients’ care. Everything pointed back to me being a family physician.”
Dr. Haga received her medical degree from Campbell (CUSOM) and then completed her residency at the Novant Health Family Medicine Residency in Cornelius, where she has continued to work since 2021. “This was clearly what I was meant to do,” Dr. Haga says.
Dr. Haga addresses the larger factors affecting medicine in her role as the Assistant Program Director and Clinic Director at the residency, where she teaches residents about the concerns that first brought her into Family Medicine. “I really try to educate our residents on nuts-and-bolts things like correctly billing for their work, appropriate charge captures, and all the payer changes,” she says. “And I really do my best to keep it as positive as possible, because we don’t want anyone to get discouraged.”
She also oversees the residency’s health system management curriculum, which gives her the chance to explain health systems to second-year residents for four-week rotations. “It’s one of my favorite parts of the job,” Dr. Haga says. “We talk about the different systems, the patient experience in receiving health care, and the overall American health system. We also discuss the importance of advocacy. What I try to teach these residents is that they can make an impact. Everyone’s given a passion for a reason, and I hope all of them do something to make their piece of the puzzle better.”
Her interest in medical management reform also guides her work in leading the residency’s clinic which has 25 physicians. “I work side-by-side with our clinic administrator,” Dr. Haga says. “I learn something new every day, and I feel like I’m still trying to wrap my mind around running an individual practice, much less a group or a health system. But I do think my background gave me an opportunity to understand these roles and this work.”
In addition to her teaching and her clinic management, Dr. Haga also cares for her own patients. “It’s a nice mix of care and teaching throughout the week,” she says, “which I love. I’ve been able to maintain my own patient panel through all these new responsibilities, even when my availability has been ebb-and-flow. They stuck with me and waited to see me, which is really, really kind.”
She first became a NCAFP member as a resident and almost immediately joined the Member Satisfaction and Practice Environment Committee. “I absolutely wanted to be involved because the NCAFP’s work tied into my mission,” Dr. Haga says. “The most rewarding part was getting to meet so many incredible physicians who are all passionate about family medicine and all get excited about making things better for patients.” Dr. Haga has also learned the importance of physician advocacy by attending several past White Coat Wednesday events, the Family Medicine Advocacy Summit, and serving on the NCAFP Advocacy Committee. Her largest contribution to NCAFP leadership so far will come this December: Dr. Haga is the program vice chair for the 2024 Winter Family Physicians Weekend, after attending the last six versions of the event. “It’s been so much fun to work on the meeting with [Program Chair] Dr. Tom White and [Events and CME Director] Kathryn Atkinson,” she says. “It’s going great. Like everything else, it ties into my passions for patient care and equipping physicians.”
(You can register to attend the winter meeting and meet Dr. Haga here, by the way!)