Ten primary care physicians at a Brigham and Women's Hospital practice, part of Boston-based Mass General Brigham, are resigning and joining a practice affiliated with Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health, The Boston Globe reported Nov. 20.
The physicians are leaving a Brigham and Women's Hospital practice in Chestnut Hill, Mass., which provides care for 13,000 to 15,000 patients annually, and heading to a new Beth Israel Lahey Health practice in Wellesley, Mass., The Globe reported.
"We look forward to opening a new Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care practice in Wellesley in the coming months," a spokesperson from Beth Israel Lahey Health said in a Nov. 20 statement shared with Becker's. "We will work closely with patients looking to receive their care at this location."
While MGB did not confirm the number of physicians exiting, a spokesperson for the health system said in a Nov. 20 statement shared with Becker's that they are working with Beth Israel to ensure accommodation for patients wanting to remain with their primary care physician are accommodated at the new location.
"We will also be offering options to patients who prefer to stay with Mass General Brigham," the spokesperson said. "We are reaching out to all impacted patients over the next few weeks to make sure that their care is not interrupted."
The news comes after primary care physicians at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, both in Boston and part of MGB, filed a petition Nov. 15 with the National Labor Relations Board to seek an election on whether to join Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD.
Last October, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute also exited its longstanding affiliation with MGB to construct a freestanding inpatient cancer hospital in Boston with Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health.
A Nov. 12 email obtained by The Globe revealed that the primary care physicians resigning from MGB's Brigham and Women's Physician Group will exit in mid-February, leaving only four physicians at the practice.
"While we recognize that professional transitions are ultimately a choice of the individuals making them, we also acknowledge the many challenges facing our profession and the day-to-day work of all [primary care physicians]," John Lewis, MD, interim director of primary care at Brigham, and four other hospital leaders, said in the email.
Former chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Paul Levy told The Globe that the exit will cost millions of dollars in lost revenue for MGB.
Becker's has reached out to Beth Israel Lahey Health for comment and will update this story should more information become available.