CMO leads Federally Qualified Health Centers using confidence and executive presence gained in the Physician MBA Program

Catherine Moya, MD, PhD, MBA’23, is a family medicine physician with a lifelong passion for caring for the underserved. From missionary work in her home country of Chile to her current work today in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), serving the community has always been important. Dr. Moya continues to pursue her passion while growing as a physician leader. She says she uses what she learned in the Physician MBA Program at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business to elevate her role and her impact in healthcare.

“I think it’s very important, especially now that so many people are struggling with employment and the high cost of living, that we have safety nets. Our goal is to increase access to healthcare services for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay,” Dr. Moya said. “I really have a passion for it, and that’s what I did in my job in Indianapolis. I’ve been working in FQHCs ever since.”

Dr. Moya continues this work in her role as the chief medical officer at Broward

HealthPoint, an affiliate of Broward Health of south Florida, one of the 10 largest public hospital systems in the country. She helps oversee clinical operations at 11 community health centers and provides leadership for 30 providers. She’s working to increase primary care access and screen patients for social determinants of health.

“We’re working to identify things like food insecurity and transportation barriers and putting in new initiatives to help these patients get the care they need,” she said.

Dr. Moya is also working to align providers with system goals, integrate primary care more fully into the hospital systems, and increase access for patients. To that end, she says each day she uses takeaways from the operations course she took, taught by Amrou Awaysheh, OneAmerica Foundation Endowed Chair and associate professor of operations and supply chain management at the Kelley School.

“It’s very important to look at system efficiencies. We examine the patient flow, from front desk check-in until the patient gets seen by a provider, to look for ways to improve processes, identify inefficiencies, and reduce waste—all crucial things I learned at the Kelley School of Business,” Dr. Moya said. “To be a CMO, you must be a physician but having a business background really helps me to be effective. I also collaborate well with the operations team to make things more efficient because I understand the work.”

The business background also gave Dr. Moya the confidence to move toward executive roles like CMO. She originally enrolled in the Physician MBA Program when she earned a medical director position during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she wanted to develop her business and leadership skills. Upon graduating, Dr. Moya felt equipped to approach operations, finance, and organizational change. She also developed a greater executive presence and moved into her first role as CMO in South Carolina. The opportunity at Health Care Partners of South Carolina became available, and Dr. Moya worked with the Physician MBA Program director and career instructor, Susannah Eastwick, to prepare for the role.

“Susannah’s class on career management was very important in preparing me to find an executive role. She gave me the skills for the job search, helped review my resume, and prepared me for the job interview,” Dr. Moya said. “During my job search, I received calls from hospitals. But once Susannah began helping me, I started receiving significantly more interview opportunities. That class was effective and valuable.”

In fact, Dr. Moya was named among the 2023 Best & Brightest Executive MBA Graduates by Poets & Quants publication.

The Physician MBA Program offers several opportunities for leadership development, including deep introspection into each physician’s strengths and weaknesses. Peer learning is also a key element of the Kelley program, as physicians learn from each other and their varied experiences. Dr. Moya says the program helped her grow as a woman leader.

“Kelley professors give you the business knowledge and then the confidence to use it. You also learn from your classmates and support each other—that created a safe environment for us to bring our concerns and find solutions to empower each other,” Dr. Moya said. “When I present to the board, I know the business terms and how to analyze reports and implement strategies based on data. The Physician MBA Program gave me that confidence, support, and foundation to be successful down the road.”

Starting from day one, students in the Physician MBA Program are partnered with an executive coach to provide ongoing, one-on-one strategic support. Dr. Moya continued working with her coach, Jennifer Robin, after graduation and still connects with her to discuss executive challenges.

“It’s very important because you can discuss specific situations that help you grow. When I brought up an issue, Jennifer talked to me about being more present. I thought, ‘What is that?’ It helped me to change my mindset,” Dr. Moya said. “These experiences really change the way you approach challenges to be more confident but also more at peace.”

Physicians in the Kelley MBA program learn strategies they can begin using immediately. During the Operations Analysis course, physicians take an actual challenge or problem from their workplace and solve it as part of the coursework on process improvement. This helps physicians create functional change in real time while also getting fresh perspectives on healthcare issues from other physicians and expert Kelley faculty.

During her degree, Dr. Moya completed a project on cancer screenings.

“We successfully introduced a Rapid Quality Improvement Process for colon cancer screenings, which was led by nurses in collaboration with providers. Our project resulted in a 9% increase in screenings, and we were asked to share our strategy with other health centers,” Dr. Moya said. “We also did a patient access improvement project focusing on no-shows that led to a 25% increase in the total number of visits compared to the previous year.”

As Dr. Moya continues her work in FQHCs, she is constantly sharing what she’s learned in the Physician MBA Program. She says physicians often ask her how to progress to the executive level, and she encourages them to pursue the Physician MBA.

“It was the best decision I made to go for it, and the return on my investment is significant,” Dr. Moya said. “If you’re serious about leadership, having the Physician MBA from the Kelley School of Business will open up a lot of doors.”