A New York City Hospital System Has Been Bitten by the Acting Bug

Unusual for a hospital system, Northwell Health has opened its doors to several filmmakers in recent years. Camera crews have filmed brain surgeries and births. They have filmed patients receiving good news and patients learning their cancer is back. And all along, the doctors have spoken candidly about their work and their lives.

It has made for riveting television, including Netflix’s hit “Lenox Hill,” a docuseries about the doctors and patients in Northwell’s hospital on the Upper East Side. The documentary “The First Wave” was filmed inside another Northwell hospital during the deadly early days of Covid-19.

Now, Northwell wants to ramp up the number of movies and shows set in its hospitals. Last month, it announced it was starting a production company called Northwell Studios to make more TV shows and films. Five new productions are underway already.

Michael J. Dowling, the C.E.O. of Northwell, said he found actual doctors far more compelling to watch than actors playing them on TV. “This is the real stuff,” he said in an interview.

The notion of a hospital’s branching out into the entertainment business drew headlines in Hollywood. (The Hollywood Reporter had the scoop.)

It also raises questions about logistics and patient privacy. Beyond the risk of broadcasting botched procedures and aggrieved or dissatisfied patients, or doctors, hospitals must navigate stringent privacy rules and laws, and Northwell’s willingness to allow film crews to set up shop in its hospitals is a rarity these days.