PROVIDENCE – Brown University Health, Rhode Island’s largest health system, will acquire a major physician network and add 40,000 new patients to its primary care system by 2029 under a deal approved Tuesday by R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.
Starting Wednesday – the first day of its new fiscal year – Brown Physicians Inc. will officially join the Brown University Health system.
Brown Physicians Inc. is a nonprofit 500-doctor group that was formed in 2017 with the merger of six practices: The Neurology Foundation Inc., University Emergency Medicine Foundation, University Medicine Foundation, University Surgical Associates Inc., Brown Urology and Brown Dermatology Inc.
But there are conditions to the merger, Neronha said.
As part of the agreement with the attorney general, Brown Health will be required to hire at least 15 new primary care providers by the end of 2027.
In total, the organization expects to bring on about 27 additional physicians and advanced practice providers to meet the needs of the 40,000 new patients it has committed to serving over the next four years. Combined, that would place more than
1,500 doctors under one entity.
"We've got to start this process now," Neronha said. "We're already behind. You can never underinvest in primary care. Rhode Islanders know this because they can't find them."
Brown University Health’s decision to consolidate with Brown Physicians is driven primarily by the strain on Rhode Island’s primary care system.
The now-approved merger comes just months after Anchor Medical Associates announced it would shut down in June, a move that left roughly
25,000 Rhode Islanders without a primary care provider and intensified the state’s access-to-care crisis.
Neronha's terms for the deal require Brown Health to make “best efforts” to ensure new patients are offered an appointment within 14 days of their request.
"Over the last few years, you had a better chance of winning the Powerball jackpot than getting an appointment with a new primary care physician within 14 days in this state," he said.
Brown University Health currently has upwards of 12,000 prospective patients on its waitlist, according to its website.
John Fernandez, CEO and President of Brown University Health, called the merger "important to our long-term strategy," but acknowledged that "a lot of work will be going into it."
As a part of the agreement, Brown Health must report to the attorney general every six months for five years, detailing new patients, provider hires, wait times and insurer payment rates.
The health system must also report any changes to primary care physician compensation, Neronha said.
In Oct. 2024 Lifespan Corp.
rebranded as Brown University Health under an expanded affiliation agreement with Brown University, becoming Rhode Island’s largest health system with more 17,000 employees and 1,620 patient care offices statewide.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
