Conclusion

This project has been one of the most meaningful things I have done in my academic career. What began as a question about payment models and operating costs turned into something I did not expect: a deep dive into the human consequences of a broken financial system. The answer to my research question is that financial sustainability depends heavily on location and patient population. Under ideal circumstances the concierge model is by far the most financially sustainable, but for practices serving low-income Medicaid-dependent communities like Brighton Beach, it is simply not accessible.

Through two summers at the practice, two interviews with independent pediatricians, and weeks of reading peer-reviewed literature, I learned more about the business of medicine than I ever expected to going into this. One of the biggest takeaways from this project is something I wish more students knew going in: healthcare is not just biology and chemistry. It is business and entrepreneurship. The doctors who survive in this field are not just clinicians, they are operators, negotiators, and decision makers navigating one of the most complex financial systems in the world. Understanding that early makes a real difference.

I plan to continue exploring this intersection of medicine and business in college, and this project gave me the foundation to do that. I want to thank Dr. James for her guidance throughout this process, Dr. Frankel for welcoming me into the practice, and Dr. Levi and Dr. Abramov for their time and honesty. This project would not have been possible without any of them.

You can view my final presentation slides here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nReiNKXLqavsUwSJn0tXrlXgbnT8eyQt/edit?usp=sharing