Naples City Council addresses ‘right to pick your own doctor’ at its meeting

Dozens of people stood in front of the Naples City Council this morning as they expressed their concerns about the new patient program at the Naples Community Hospital.

They said, it’s hard to feel comfortable with a physician who does not know you. Others have said this will effect the way they interact with their patients.

“For myself the end game is not just the quality of care given during that hospitalization,” David Madwar said, an independent doctor. “It’s how well is that patient one year later, two years later, one decade later.”

WINK News informed readers last month that the Naples Community Hospital was moving forward with a new program that stops patients from using outside doctors. Only doctors employed by the NCH can admit patients, give medical orders and add notes to the patients records.

And today, city council said they want to make sure the public’s concerns are taken seriously by the NCH board.

“The consensus of our City Council is that we’ll send a letter to their board or trustees,” Bill Barnett said, who is the mayor of Naples, “and it’ll be a strong concise letter asking them to take a step back on behalf of the community, before they go full steam ahead.”