Brown University Health has opened its first Massachusetts primary care practice, setting up shop at 2005 Bay St. in Taunton to serve patients across the Greater Taunton and Foxborough areas. The new office offers illness diagnosis and treatment, annual physicals, chronic disease management, immunizations and preventive screenings, with both in-person and telemedicine visits available.
The practice is staffed by family medicine physicians Dr. Charelle Allen and Dr. David Kerzer, according to pbn.com. Brown University Health describes the office as providing comprehensive primary care focused on prevention, wellness and long-term health, per its own Brown University Health site, which also notes patients can use MyChart to request appointments, ask questions and view lab results. Those interested in becoming new patients can call 508-985-4105 for more information.
There's some uncertainty about exactly when the office opened its doors. WJAR reports the Taunton office opened at the beginning of August, while pbn.com reports Brown University Health announced the opening on September 10. Either way, the office has quickly become a lifeline for patients who'd gone without a regular doctor for extended stretches.
Patients Who Waited Years for Care
According to WJAR, the Taunton office already has roughly 1,100 patients, served currently by two primary care physicians, including Dr. Allen. Patients served by the office have included people who hadn't received primary care for 18 months to two years, the station reports, and Edward McGookin, who oversees all Brown Health primary care offices, said he personally helped place a person who had lacked primary care for five years.
McGookin said that reaching about 1,100 patients within two months demonstrates just how deep the region's primary care deserts run, per the same WJAR report. The Taunton office can accommodate about 3,500 patients, and Brown University Health plans to bring in more doctors, with station reporting indicating the practice could ultimately serve as many as 8,000 additional patients once that happens.
A Statewide Shortage Taking Shape
The Taunton opening lands amid mounting evidence that Massachusetts is struggling to keep primary care doctors in the field. The share of primary care physicians who exited the specialty climbed to 5.5% in 2025, the highest level recorded since the measurement began, according to mhqp.org. The same data shows the overall share of Massachusetts-based physicians practicing primary care fell from 30.4% in 2018 to 28.7% in 2023, while the share of primary care doctors over age 65 crept up from 21.7% to 22.2% over roughly the same period.
Fewer new graduates appear to be filling the gap. Mhqp.org reports that the percentage of Massachusetts medical and osteopathic graduates still practicing primary care six to eight years after graduation dropped from 22.0% in 2023 to 19.2% in 2024, even as the ranks of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in primary care have grown. It's genuinely difficult to find a primary care doctor in the state right now, and some patients have been left waiting weeks or longer for appointments, according to cbsnews.com.
High medical school costs and lower pay compared with specialists are major deterrents to entering the field, Dr. Olivia Liao told the outlet. “I don't think there's going to be one easy solution,” Liao said. Other efforts to plug the gap have emerged elsewhere in the state, including a CVS and Massachusetts General Hospital partnership offering primary care through MinuteClinics at local pharmacies, per the same cbsnews.com report.
Brown Health's Broader Regional Footprint
WJAR reports that Taunton patients have access to specialists throughout the Brown network, and Dr. Allen said the office can refer patients for labs and imaging. Nearby Morton Hospital, which Brown University Health says provides comprehensive radiology services including emergency, diagnostic and routine imaging for patients of all ages, sits in the same city.
Brown Health Medical Group Primary Care was formerly known as Coastal Medical before Lifespan Corp. rebranded as Brown University Health in 2024, pbn.com notes. The medical group already operates more than 25 primary care locations across adult, family and pediatric medicine throughout Rhode Island, and it recently opened an expanded site in Middletown at 99 East Main Road, Suite 19A — a roughly 15,000-square-foot facility with on-site lab services, specialty space and room for growth, according to Brown University Health. That expansion was framed as a way to reach a region where access to coordinated primary care has long been limited.
Back in Taunton, WJAR reports the office is currently taking new patients without a wait and is available to patients who live in Rhode Island as well. Brown University Health hopes to open more primary care offices across southeastern Massachusetts over the next one or two years, according to the station's report, as it looks to chip away at a shortage that has left thousands of residents searching for a doctor closer to home.
