First, her favorite doctor in Providence, R.I. retired. Then her other doctor, at a health center a few miles away, left the practice. Now, Piedad Fred has developed a new chronic condition: distrust in the American medical system.
"I don't know,'' she said, eyes filling up. "To go to a doctor that doesn't know who you are? That doesn't know what allergies you have, the medicines that make you feel bad? It's difficult...I know that I feel cheated, sad, and like I have my hands tied.''
