Cindy Lau

Tax certified

BS in Accounting and Finance Finance professional with comprehensive background in accounting, ready to contribute to financial management and reporting. Known for accuracy in financial record-keeping and proficiency in auditing and tax preparation. Reliable team collaborator with focus on achieving financial accuracy and supporting dynamic business needs through analytical problem-solving and effective communication. Detail-oriented Accountant with [Number] years effectively maintaining accurate accounting information for large-scale financial organizations. History working as part of financial team to manage diverse financial functions, tax management and reporting. Works closely with executive management on complex mergers and acquisitions and divestitures.

• NextGen Advisors, a multidisciplinary team of healthcare experts, partner with medical practices to solve strategic and operational challenges faced by organizations as they navigate the changing healthcare landscape.
• Dr. Betty Rabinowitz, Chief Medical Officer
• Graham Brown, Senior Vice President
• Dr. Martin Lustick, Senior Vice President
• Cherie Holmes-Henry, Vice President, Government & Industry Affairs
• Chris Emper, Government Affairs Advisor

• The COVID-19 pandemic is an accelerator of change. It has magnified existing business challenges and emphasized a need to prioritize the financial and patient engagement aspects of healthcare delivery.
• This white paper explores the economic, sociocultural, operational, and technological impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on independent medical practices.
• How can practices adapt to these challenges?
• Practices that embrace innovation and leverage technology will have a greater chance of maintaining sustainability during and after the pandemic.

• In the early stages of the pandemic, the number of visits to ambulatory healthcare practices plummeted by nearly 60 percent. Financial hardships resulting from this sudden drop intensified as practice owners and administrators faced tough questions, such as: How long can we stay in business? How many people do we have to lay off?
• Fear of the virus added a new layer of stress and anxiety in offices as frantic patients broke records in daily call volumes. Providers made critical medical decisions at a previously unfathomable pace as reduced staff struggled to meet the demands of patients under a flurry of new safety precautions.
• As a result of this turbulent time, many aspects of healthcare were forced to undergo reevaluation.

• COVID-19 amplified the need to address the nation’s social determinants of health (SDoH). The pandemic illuminates how health inequity and disparities disproportionately affect particular groups.
• The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion defines a health disparity as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage.”
• Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to healthcare based on their:
• Racial or ethnic group
• Religion
• Socioeconomic status
• Gender
• Age
• Mental health
• Cognitive, sensory, or physical disability
• Sexual orientation or gender identity
• Geographic location
• Other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion

• PPE costs skyrocket
• The cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) rose more than 1,000 percent amid the early months of the pandemic. For example, the cost of isolation gowns went from $.025 to $5.00, a 2,000 percent increase.
• A greater need for PPE is among the many changes ambulatory practices have faced during the pandemic. Practices altered their work environments quickly under an ever-changing landscape of state and federal mandates, and safety recommendations.
• In the face of this seismic shift across the healthcare landscape, practices have demonstrated diligence and commitment to ensure safety for patients, providers, and staff—regardless of cost and drastic change in workflow.

• Sudden rise in patient expectations
• As waiting rooms stood empty, practices rapidly began to utilize virtual visits and educate patients about telehealth. Despite adding new tools and workflows for staff, telehealth was quickly incorporated as a viable approach to remain connected with patients.
• The whole stance on virtual care changed rapidly in a system that’s traditionally regarded as “slow to change” and “set in their ways.” When the need for a different kind of patient engagement became apparent, the healthcare community initiated change quickly to offer virtual visits.
• The demand for virtual care motivated practices to evaluate patient engagement differently and rethink their communication methods. Emails, texts, and portals became essential tools to reach and stay in contact with patients. Communication and connectivity advanced to the forefront of defining a practice’s success.

• Ambulatory care leaders are faced with increasing challenges as they navigate the evolving healthcare landscape. Practices need to transform and innovate to ensure sustainability and prosperity.
• Look to a technology partner that can provide a comprehensive solution to accommodate your unique needs in the new era of healthcare.

• In the COVID-19 pandemic, providers have adapted to rapidly changing circumstances. Ambulatory practices have displayed an unprecedented level of creativity and innovation.
• This wave of innovation offers hope that we are not bound by history. There are various models developed over the past decade employing visionary concepts of patient engagement and redefinitions of the healthcare team that may offer insights into some of the possibilities ahead.
• The American Academy of Family Medicine notes several potential models. In Illinois, a group of physicians formed the Home Centered Care Institute, which focuses on providing in-home based primary care to high-risk populations. The Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts implemented a model where they combine primary care with public health services so that social determinants of health are managed in close coordination with clinical care.
• At the University of Chicago, Dr. David Meltzer implemented an internal medicine approach called the Comprehensive Care Physician model. Physicians in this practice have organized to take care of a small number of high-risk patients and provide both outpatient and hospital care. Remarkably, they have shown promising results for patient outcomes and utilization as well as provider morale.