A nationwide shortage of primary-care doctors, especially in poor and rural areas, will make it difficult for many of the newly insured to find a personal physician. ER managers say they’re bracing for previously uninsured patients who came to the hospital when they needed acute medical attention to begin showing up, insurance cards in hand, for routine medical care. A study by Peter Smulowitz, HMS instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is cited.
