Doctors start new clinic with $3600 annual fee

Two popular Boston internists are closing their busy practices, leaving most of their 7,500 patients to find new doctors, as the physicians open a small concierge practice that will charge individuals a $3,600 yearly fee to join.

Dr. Jeffrey Bass, 50, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Dr. Ronald Katz, 51, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are the latest physicians to give up large traditional medical practices, in which doctors see a patient every 15 to 30 minutes, in favor of a slower pace and potentially higher income.

A third highly sought-after doctor who practices with Bass, Dr. Martin Solomon, 58, has decided to stay with the Brigham but to scale back to a smaller practice. He recently mailed a letter to most of his 5,000 patients asking them to voluntarily switch to another doctor in the practice.

"Unfortunately, for many, many years I've had trouble saying no to new patients," said Solomon, who added that the administrative burden in his practice has become overwhelming. "I just felt I couldn't physically do it anymore."