Under a new program at Naples (Fla.) Community Hospital, some patients will lose the ability to select their own physicians for treatment, reports Wink News.
The program will only allow a physician employed by NCH to admit patients, give medical orders and add notes to medical records. NCH will permit an unaffiliated physician to visit a patient at the facility, review his or her medical record, and work with the hospital to create a care plan.
Many physicians and patients have voiced their opposition to the program.
"As a patient, I want my doctor, who I think is extremely competent," Paul Kardon, a retired physician and past patient at NCH, told Wink News.
Cesar Deleon, DO, president of the Collier County Medical Society, said the program is "not only shocking to me but scary for the care of my patients."
However, NCH Healthcare System stands by the program, saying it helps improve patient outcomes.
"[Patients in the new model of care] are having a better patient experience, are having a shorter length of stay and are having a lower chance of being readmitted within 30 days," NCH Healthcare System said in a written statement to Wink News.