Massachusetts Brigham General Hospital will no longer accept new primary care patients – NBC New England

If you’re looking for a new primary care physician, you won’t find it at the Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham.

The state’s largest health system said its Boston academic medical centers: Massachusetts General and Brigham are overwhelmed and will not accept new primary care patients.

If you are on a waiting list, it can take several months to get an appointment with your primary care doctor.

So instead of continuing to add more to the wait list, the Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham made the difficult decision to no longer accept any primary care patients until they could secure people on the wait list within a reasonable period of time. Get an appointment within the time.

Of course, the timing is difficult because we’re in the middle of cold and flu season. If people don’t have a PCP, they may end up in emergency rooms and urgent care centers with illnesses that their primary care physician could better manage or treat before their conditions worsen and require emergency care.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham said the hospital continues to face “historic and relentless capacity challenges,” exacerbated by “primary care provider shortages, severe staffing issues and growing demand.” challenge.

“We are working urgently to increase and accelerate access to our hospitals and services, not only by recruiting more providers and staff, but also through innovative solutions such as virtual urgent care and offering appointments with advanced practice providers,” they said. .”

It’s unclear how long Mass General Brigham will stop accepting new primary care patients.