But this season was never about retelling a story you’ve already heard.

It was about getting to the real question: how could this happen again and again without institutions stepping in to stop it?

In this short wrap-up, Kay Van Wey reflects on why we started here, why the public outrage still hasn’t translated into the changes patients need, and what she hopes you’re walking away with: a clearer understanding of the system, and a reason to keep pushing for accountability because whether you’ve been affected or not, we’re all patients eventually.

Kay also shares an open invitation: if you’ve got a story, feedback, or expertise that belongs in this conversation, reach out. This podcast is for you and it’s not meant to be an echo chamber.

That’s a wrap on Season 1… we’re heading into Season 2! We hope you come along for the ride.

 Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT

#AdvoKAYtePodcast #HoldingHealthcareAccountable #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #DrDeath #HealthcareReform #MedicalMalpractice

How did the system let him keep going?

In BONUS Episode 2 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey sits down with Laura Beil, the investigative journalist and host of Wondery’s Dr. Death, to talk about what most people miss. This story was labeled “true crime,” but Laura explains why it was never really a whodunit. It was a why-was-this-allowed.

They get into what Laura learned reporting Dr. Death, what happens when healthcare is treated like a business, and why transparency is still so hard for patients even when they’re trying to do everything “right.”

In this BONUS episode, we talk about:

1. Why the healthcare system is the main character in Dr. Death
2. The money, pressure, and incentives that shape decisions behind the scenes
3. Why patients can research a refrigerator more easily than a surgeon
4. What to look for when you’re choosing a doctor (and why instincts matter)
5. Tools like ProPublica’s Surgeon Scorecard and what data can—and can’t—tell you
6. Why people inside hospitals are often afraid to speak up, even when they know something’s wrong
7. What has (and hasn’t) changed since Dr. Death and why that matters now

If you’ve followed Dr. Death, or if you’ve ever wondered how stories like this keep happening, you’ll want to hear this conversation.

Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT

#AdvoKAYtePodcast #LauraBeil #DrDeath #Wondery #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #MedicalMalpractice #InvestigativeJournalism #HealthcareReform

In this BONUS episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey is joined by a powerhouse panel to break down the horrifying “Bingo Doctor” case—where an anesthesiologist allegedly sedated patients while staff were distracted by music bingo, and the monitor alarms were believed to be turned off.

This isn’t just a shocking story. It’s a spotlight on the same system failures we keep seeing: weak oversight, loopholes in reporting, and a culture that can silence people who know something is wrong.

Panelists

1. Kay Van Wey — medical malpractice attorney & patient safety advocate
2. Bob Oshel — former associate director, National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
3. Dr. Robert Henderson — board-certified spine surgeon
4. Anne Roberts — VP of Medical Staff Services, major New England hospital system
5. Dr. Martin Lazar — board-certified neurosurgeon

In this BONUS episode, we discuss:

1. Why this level of sedation is unusual for cataract surgery and what that could mean
2. How monitoring and alarms are supposed to protect patients (and what happens when they’re silenced)
3. Why distraction in the OR violates the standard of care—no matter how “routine” the procedure seems
4. How ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) handle peer review and why accountability can be harder in smaller facilities
5. The NPDB reporting rules and the loopholes facilities use to avoid reporting
6. Why there are effectively no real penalties for non-reporting
7. How doctors can move state-to-state with a “clean slate,” and why continuous query matters

If you’ve ever assumed “outpatient” automatically means “safe,” this conversation will change how you think about oversight, reporting, and patient protection.

Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT
 
Question: Should the public have access to more provider safety data—yes or no?

#AdvoKAYtePodcast #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #MedicalMalpractice #NPDB #OutpatientSurgery #AnesthesiaSafety #HealthcareReform #KayVanWey

In this new episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey and patient safety expert Anne Roberts pull back the curtain on the doctors Anne calls “the deplorables”—providers linked to horrific outcomes who were still allowed to keep practicing because the system looked the other way.

This conversation isn’t meant to scare you. It’s meant to show you how these patterns happen and what patients and families can do to protect themselves.

You’ll hear real examples, including:

1. Dr. Bruce Hinckley — a cocaine-addicted spine surgeon and the shocking lengths taken to avoid detection
2. Dr. Michael Swango — often called the original “Dr. Death,” and how credentialing failures let him keep moving
3. “Pill mill” medicine — how profit-driven prescribing became deadly
4. Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz — violence, warning signs, and how accountability came far too late

A common thread shows up again and again: money, weak oversight, and the refusal to act until it’s catastrophic.

Premieres Wednesday at 9:00 AM CT
 
Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube (wherever you get your podcasts)

Question for you: What should happen when a hospital or facility sees repeated red flags: mandatory reporting, automatic suspension, or something else?

#AdvoKAYtePodcast #HoldingHealthcareAccountable #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #MedicalMalpractice #HealthcareReform #PatientRights #TrueCrimePodcast #HealthcareLeadership #QualitySafety

In Episode 12 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable (Part 2 of our conversation from Episode 11), Kay Van Wey sits down again with healthcare executive and patient safety expert Anne Roberts to talk about what the system doesn’t want to say out loud:
Texas tort reform made it financially impossible for many injured patients to bring legitimate cases.

And the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which is the federal reporting system meant to flag dangerous doctors, has loopholes so wide that some hospitals avoid reporting altogether.
Kay breaks down what “tort reform” really did in Texas, why so many families are told “we can’t take your case,” and how that erodes trust in both medicine and the legal system. Then Kay and Anne walk through the NPDB: what it’s supposed to do, why it hasn’t meaningfully evolved since the 1980s, and how hospitals can use technicalities to keep bad actors moving quietly from one facility to another.

In Episode 12, we cover:
Texas tort reform and how damage caps shut most patients out of court
Why the “lawsuit crisis” narrative took hold and what Kay says was actually happening
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) and why the NPDB still operates on outdated rules
NPDB loopholes: how reporting can be avoided (and why it matters)
The enforcement problem: penalties exist… but they’re not used
Why Dr. Death (Christopher Duntsch) wasn’t the end of the story, but the warning!

🎧 New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT
🔎 Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-p...

Watch/Listen here:
▶️ YouTube playlist:  • AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable! 
🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Vvmpsj...
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

💬 Question for you: Should hospitals be fined when they don’t report dangerous doctors to the NPDB?
.
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#AdvoKAYtePodcast #HealthcareAccountability #PatientSafety #TexasTortReform #NationalPractitionerDataBank #NPDB #MedicalMalpractice #PatientRights #HealthcareReform #DrDeath #KayVanWey #AnneRoberts

In Episode 11 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey is joined again by healthcare executive and patient safety expert Anne Roberts to confront a difficult truth: there are other “Dr. Deaths” hiding in plain sight—and the data proves it.
Despite coming from opposite sides of the healthcare system, Kay (a medical malpractice attorney) and Anne (a hospital executive) share a deep commitment to patient safety. In this episode, they unpack how systemic failures, profit-driven pressures, outdated laws, and a lack of political will continue to allow dangerous providers to slip through the cracks.

In this episode, we cover:
Why most doctors, nurses, and hospitals want to do the right thing and why the system still fails
How burnout, addiction, and financial pressure can turn good providers into dangerous ones
Why healthcare keeps repeating the same safety failures
What the airline industry gets right about safety and healthcare doesn’t
How profit pressures put patients last
Why patients often feel powerless and what they can do to protect themselves
Texas tort reform and how it closed courthouse doors to injured patients
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986 and why it hasn’t been updated in nearly 40 years
Loopholes in the National Practitioner Data Bank that let hospitals avoid reporting dangerous doctors
The shocking truth: not a single hospital has ever been punished for failing to report

Season One of AdvoKAYte focused on Christopher Duntsch in the hope that public outrage would finally spark reform. This episode asks the harder question: why hasn’t it?
⚠️ This conversation continues in Part 2, where Kay and Anne dive into even more extreme cases of dangerous physicians and what it will take to stop the next one.
🎧 Listen and subscribe for honest conversations about patient safety, accountability, and healthcare reform.
🔎 Learn more: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

In Episode 10 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Dr. Robert Henderson and Dr. Martin Lazar return to continue the conversation about what’s happened to medicine over their careers and why patient safety is still at risk.

They explain how neurosurgical training and certification have improved since Dr. Death and why Christopher Duntsch would never qualify today. But they’re clear: this is only one step, not a solution.

This episode covers:

• Why board eligibility should be required to practice in hospitals

• Whether current reforms can truly prevent another Dr. Death

• The fading but dangerous legacy of medicine’s “code of silence”

• How corporate employment changed referrals and accountability

• Why most physicians are now employees, not independent doctors

• How private equity and profit pressure threaten patient safety

• The rise of the “physicianpreneur” and why patients can’t easily tell who to trust

In a fast lightning round, they also share what they miss about the old days of medicine, what technology has improved, how they view AI, and why physician integrity matters more than ever.

If you want to understand where healthcare is headed and what that means for patients—this conversation is one you shouldn’t miss.

Listen to Episode 10:

https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

Like, subscribe, and share to help keep patients first. 

In Episode 9 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, I’m joined by two veteran neurosurgeons and patient safety advocates, Dr. Robert Henderson and Dr. Martin Lazar, to talk honestly about why the same system failures that enabled Christopher Duntsch still exist today.

As members of the No More Dr. Deaths group, Dr. Henderson and Dr. Lazar explain how hospitals continue to protect dangerous doctors, often out of fear, finances, or convenience. They share what really happens when a physician causes harm and why reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank is still routinely avoided.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why over half of U.S. hospitals have never reported a doctor

• How fear of lawsuits keeps dangerous physicians hidden

• Why hospitals let doctors “voluntarily resign” instead of reporting them

• How profit-driven systems put patients at risk

• Why no hospital has ever been punished for violating NPDB laws

• What has changed in residency training since Dr. Death, and what hasn’t

• Whether the medical “code of silence” is finally breaking

When asked to grade the system, Dr. Lazar gives it a simple answer: poorly.

If you want to understand why Dr. Death wasn’t a one-off and what must change to stop the next one, this conversation matters.

Listen to Episode 9:

https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

Like, subscribe, and share to help put patient safety first.

In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, the speaker sits down with Lisa McGiffert, longtime patient safety advocate and former Consumer Reports leader, to explain what the Dr. Death case revealed about medical boards, transparency, and accountability in healthcare.

Lisa spent 27 years at Consumer Reports working on healthcare oversight and later led a national campaign requiring hospitals to publicly report infection rates. She now leads the Patient Safety Action Network (PSAN), helping patients and families turn harm into action.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Dr. Death exposed failures in medical board oversight

• Why disciplined doctors appeared “clean” in Texas

• How new laws now require continuous monitoring of the National Practitioner Data Bank

• Why secrecy still protects doctors over patients

• What patients can do to demand accountability

If you followed the Dr. Death story and want to understand how the system failed and how to prevent it from happening again—this episode is essential.

Learn more about PSAN: https://www.patientsafetyaction.org

More AdvoKAYte episodes: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/
 
Like, subscribe, and share to support patient safety.

In this powerful episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with Michelle Shughart, the lead prosecutor in the infamous “Dr. Death” case — the criminal trial that sent neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch to prison for life.

Michelle pulls back the curtain on how a case unlike anything the Dallas DA’s office had ever seen became a historic prosecution.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Michelle’s path to the Dr. Death case

• From handling everyday felonies and white-collar crimes to taking on a serially harmful surgeon with a trail of devastated patients.

2. Why this was truly a criminal case

• How the team dug through medical records, patient stories, and surgeon testimony to prove that what happened in the OR was far beyond “complications.”

3. Inside the mind of Dr. Death

• The chilling “stone cold killer” email
• Wildly abnormal surgical “complications” that “just don’t happen”
• A surgeon who didn’t know what structure he was operating on — and still thought he was doing a great job
• How narcissism, possible sociopathy, and drugs collided in the worst way 

4. The victims and the numbers

• How subpoenas revealed that almost every patient he touched was harmed — and why it’s a miracle he was stopped before building an even bigger practice.

5. The hospital records you never see

• How Michelle used criminal subpoenas to access peer review files and internal documents that called his work “terrible” and “inexcusable.”

6. The defense strategy

• Why no doctor took the stand to defend his care, and how the defense tried to shift blame to hospitals and training programs instead.

7. The turning point in court

• How Dr. Randall Kirby and Dr. Robert Henderson raised the alarm — and how Dr. Mark Lazar’s testimony finally forced Dr. Death to confront what he’d done.

8. Where the story goes from here

• Why Michelle, Kay, and the rest of the team still work together to push for systemic change so this never happens again.

 About Our Guest – Michelle Shughart

1. Felony Chief at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office
2. Lead prosecutor in the Dr. Death criminal case
3. Now in the Crimes Against Children unit, which she calls some of the most meaningful work she’s ever done
4. Mom of two young kids, fighting every day for the most vulnerable

About the Podcast

AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, hosted by medical malpractice attorney Kay Van Wey, uses real cases like Dr. Death to expose how the system fails patients — and what must change to make healthcare safer.

Subscribe & Join the Movement

If you think what happened in the Dr. Death case should never be allowed to happen again:

• Like this video 
• Comment: Do you think more doctors should face criminal charges when they knowingly harm patients?
• Share this episode with someone who followed the Dr. Death story 
• Subscribe for more deep dives into patient safety, hospital accountability, and justice.

In Episode 6 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, medical malpractice attorney and host Kay Van Wey talks with Dr. Robert “Bob” Oshel, former senior leader at the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), about how a system designed to catch dangerous doctors failed to stop Dr. Death.

Using the Dr. Death case as a roadmap, Kay and Dr. Oshel break down:

1. How Duntsch was able to move from hospital to hospital despite catastrophic outcomes
2. How hospitals can quietly push out problem physicians without triggering NPDB reporting
3. The legal tricks (like 29-day suspensions) used to avoid filing reportable actions
4. Why only about half of U.S. hospitals have EVER reported a clinical privileges action
5. The stunning reality that 1.8% of doctors account for half of all malpractice payouts—yet most never face serious discipline
6. Why patients cannot access NPDB data on their own doctors
7. What would have to change—legally and politically—to prevent “the next Dr. Death”

You’ll also learn:

1. What the National Practitioner Data Bank is and why Congress created it
2. How hospitals, medical boards, and insurers are supposed to use it
3. Why weak enforcement, loopholes, and money incentives keep patients in the dark

This episode will change the way you think about hospital accountability, “bad apples,” and the illusion that “someone must be watching.”

 About Our Guest – Dr. Robert Oshel

1. PhD in Government, specializing in public law and research methodology
2. Former director-level leader at the National Practitioner Data Bank, overseeing research and secretarial review of disputed reports
3. Longtime volunteer with Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, analyzing national malpractice and disciplinary data to expose patterns of danger and inaction

Subscribe to AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable

New episodes weekly with Kay Van Wey, digging into real cases like Dr. Death and exposing how the system fails patients and how we can fight back.

If this episode opened your eyes, like, comment, and share.

Tell us in the comments: Should the Dr. Death case have pushed Congress to make doctor discipline data public?

In Episode 5 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey talks with credentialing and peer review expert Anne Roberts, a 29-year industry veteran who has worked with hospitals nationwide to improve physician oversight, prevent patient harm, and strengthen safety culture.

Anne’s work spans nearly three decades across academic medical centers, rural hospitals, and major health systems. She trains physician leaders, oversees onboarding, evaluates competency, and investigates red flags long before a doctor ever touches a patient. After the Dr. Death case, Anne and Kay connected through a shared outrage—and a shared mission: no more preventable patient harm.

In this eye-opening conversation, Anne breaks down:

1. Credentialing 101: how hospitals are supposed to vet a doctor’s training, competence, and background
2. The red flags that should stop a physician from being hired
3. Why shortcuts happen—and how financial pressure leads to dangerous decisions
4. The truth about board certification and what it does (and doesn’t) mean
5. How recredentialing and continuous monitoring really work
6. The secret world of peer review—and why patients rarely get access to outcomes data
7. What patients can do to protect themselves when choosing a doctor
8. How business leaders sometimes override clinicians—and why that puts patients at risk

Anne also shares how she won the Icon Award for her leadership in reforming credentialing standards, and why she believes transparency, training, and better oversight are the only way forward.

If you’re a patient, a healthcare professional, or someone who wants to understand how the system failed in the Dr. Death case—and how to prevent the next one—this conversation is essential.

Listen to more episodes & access resources:

https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

 
Like, subscribe, and share to support the mission of safer healthcare for everyone.

In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey sits down with respected neurosurgeon Dr. Martin Lazar for one of the most candid conversations yet about Dr. Death, residency failures, and why the system meant to protect patients simply didn’t.

Dr. Lazar shares how he first heard the “hair-raising” stories about Christopher Duntsch, what he saw when he reviewed the cases, and why the complications weren’t just bad outcomes—they were profound negligence no trained neurosurgeon could ever justify. From wrong-level surgeries to damaged spinal cords and preventable deaths, he explains exactly where things went catastrophically wrong.

Kay and Dr. Lazar also dig into the bigger questions:

1. How did a neurosurgical residency graduate someone so dangerously unprepared?
2. Why did the Texas Medical Board fail to act for so long?
3. What forced the American Board of Neurological Surgery to change its rules?
4. And why hasn’t the rest of medicine followed?

This is a deeply personal, eye-opening episode about accountability, culture, and the urgent need to reform residency training and patient-safety systems. Dr. Lazar’s message is clear: there’s unfinished business—and lives depend on fixing it.

00:38 – Introducing Dr. Martin Lazar

02:00 – Dr. Lazar’s career and passion for neurosurgery

04:25 – How Dr. Lazar first heard about Christopher Duntsch

07:10 – Early warnings ignored by the Texas Medical Board

10:05 – Reviewing the cases: “Profound negligence” vs. bad outcomes

13:45 – Wrong-level surgeries, misdiagnoses, and catastrophic harm

17:00 – The cervical case where Duntsch reamed the spinal cord

19:40 – Anatomy mistakes no neurosurgeon should ever make

22:05 – Preventable patient death from a lacerated iliac artery

24:40 – The residency program: conflicts of interest & failed training

29:15 – How the Duntsch case forced neurosurgery to change its rules

32:50 – Why other specialties haven’t followed suit

35:30 – The broken National Practitioner Data Bank

38:00 – Why major reform needs patient-led pressure

41:10 – Media attention vs. real systemic change

43:00 – Dr. Lazar’s experience testifying at the criminal trial

46:30 – Why he’s still fighting for reform: “Unfinished business”

Listen to more AdvoKAYte episodes & resources:

https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/

If this conversation moved you, please like, subscribe, and share.

Every patient deserves a safe doctor—and informed patients help change the system.

Despite enormous resistance, Dr. Henderson persisted—filing reports, contacting medical boards, and ultimately helping bring a dangerous surgeon to justice. This episode dives into the consequences he faced for blowing the whistle, the failures of peer review systems, and the systemic flaws that allow unsafe physicians to continue practicing.

In This Episode (Part 2):

1. Why Dr. Henderson documented and reported his findings
2. The institutional pushback he received—and how he handled it
3. The failures of hospital and medical board oversight
4. The ongoing need for credentialing reform and accountability
5. A call to action for healthcare transparency and patient protection

Dr. Henderson’s story reminds us of the power of moral courage in a system that too often protects itself over its patients. His experience fuels the growing demand for reform in how we ensure safety in healthcare.

Subscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Vanweylaw Learn more about Kay’s work: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms

Welcome back to AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable. In this powerful episode, Kay Van Wey sits down with Dr. Robert Henderson—the spine surgeon who took a stand and helped expose one of the most shocking medical scandals in modern history: the Dr. Death case.

Dr. Henderson shares his firsthand account of how he became involved in the case of Christopher Duntsch, what he discovered during the revision surgery that changed everything, and the moment he realized he had a duty to speak up—no matter the cost.

Despite immense pressure, personal risk, and a system designed to protect physicians over patients, Dr. Henderson chose truth and transparency. His courage not only protected future patients, but helped ignite a national conversation about medical oversight, credentialing failures, and the urgent need for reform.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. How Dr. Henderson became involved in the Duntsch case
2. What he uncovered during the revision surgery—and why it was alarming
3. Why he documented and reported his findings, despite resistance
4. The personal and professional risks of speaking out against another physician
5. The failures of hospital peer review and medical board oversight
6. The continued need for reform in credentialing and accountability

Dr. Henderson’s story is a reminder of the power of moral courage and the responsibility of medical professionals to protect patients—even when the system won’t.

 Subscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Vanweylaw
Learn more about Kay’s work: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ 
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms

Together, we can demand better, safer care. Because patient safety starts with accountability.

#AdvoKAYte #KayVanWey #PatientSafety #DrDeath #HealthcareReform #Whistleblower #MedicalMalpractice #DrRobertHenderson #HealthcareAccountability

Welcome to the very first episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable! Hosted by nationally recognized medical malpractice attorney Kay Van Wey, this podcast is dedicated to empowering patients, families, and caregivers to navigate today’s complex healthcare system.

In this episode, Kay shares her personal journey—from her small-town roots to becoming a leading advocate for patient safety. Best known for her role in the infamous Dr. Death case, Kay opens up about why she’s spent over 40 years fighting for justice and why this podcast is her next step in making healthcare safer for everyone.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. Why Kay became a lawyer and how her passion for justice began.
2. The challenges of medical malpractice law and the systemic issues that harm patients.
3. Why AdvoKAYte exists and what you can expect in upcoming episodes.

Kay’s mission is clear: to expose the cover-ups, profit games, and preventable errors that put all of us at risk—and to empower YOU to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Subscribe for more episodes: [https://www.youtube.com/@Vanweylaw]
Learn more about Kay’s work: https://www.vanweylaw.com/
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more!

Together, we can demand better, safer care. Because every patient matters, and every story matters.

#AdvoKAYte #KayVanWey #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #DrDeath #MedicalMalpractice