If you're searching for a new primary care doctor, you won't be able to find one at some of the major Mass General Brigham hospitals.
The state's largest health care system said its academic medical centers, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital are full and won't be accepting any new primary care patients. If you're on a waitlist, it may be months before you can get an appointment with a primary care physician.
Instead of just continuing to add to that waitlist, Mass General Brigham made the difficult decision to no longer accept new primary care patients at those hospitals until they can ensure those on the waitlist are receiving appointments in a reasonable amount of time.
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Mass General Brigham, which has hospitals across the Greater Boston area still has availability at its suburban practices and community hospitals, however. (Read a statement from MGB below.)
Of course, the timing is tough as we're right in the middle of cold and flu season. And if people don't have a PCP, they can end up in emergency rooms and urgent care centers for ailments that could have been better handled by their primary care doctor or treated before it got worse and required emergency care.
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Read a statement from MGB here:
While capacity for new primary care patients is limited at select practices at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, there is availability in the Mass General Brigham system for new primary care patients.
We have primary care availability in practices associated with our community hospitals, in our suburban community physician practices, and with our affiliated practices throughout the region, including One Medical. We can offer appointments with advanced practice providers to new patients. We are also working urgently to increase and expedite access to primary care at our hospitals in Boston by hiring more providers and staff, offering primary care appointments to new patients as they become available, and through innovative solutions like virtual urgent care.
