@smith777 - thank you for your concern and suggestion, Susan.

Actually, my current MD is in a university hospital system. I've read they are the 2nd largest employer in the state with at least 4 hospitals, 140+ locations and many specialty practices. I live in NC, which may give you a hint as to which hospital system it is. I actually think the system's size is part of the problem - impersonal and siloed. I escalated to patient relations in October and after a couple of conversations and emails, that advocate disappeared, never to be heard from again. On this and other issues I reported, her role appeared to be that of a traffic cop and to tell ME what else I should try. In fairness, she did engage the Dir. of Outpatient Oncology who promised to be my contact but has not replied to my last 2 emails since November. I learned she delegated this to the practice Administrator and he's the one who told me this was too "complicated" for him. Very sad and frustrating.

Please see my reply to @prarysky to follow for more comments about system and provider.