Being a patient is getting harder in a strained and complex US health care system

By Tom MurphyThe Associated PressTamika Davis couldn’t nap on her couch during cancer treatment. She kept worrying one of her toddlers would wander over and pull out the needle delivering chemotherapy.Friends and family watched her kids when they could during her treatment last year for colon cancer. But Davis had gaps with no help because she couldn’t afford child care and didn’t know where to look for assistance.“I did not have the strength nor the energy to try to navigate these things myself,” the San Antonio, Texas, resident said.Tamika Davis, plays with her children at MLK Park. She said friends and family watched her kids for most of her doctor visits during treatment last year for colon cancer. But she couldn’t afford additional childcare, and she didn’t know where to look for assistance. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Patients are not getting enough help dealing with a healthcare system that is growing increasingly complex, according to researchers and other experts in care delivery. They say more frequent insurance complications, doctor and drug shortages, and a lack of communication all make life harder for people with serious or chronic illnesses.“Just about anything you can think of, it’s now harder to get it done,...