AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable

Season 1 Finale: What Dr. Death Taught Us + What’s Next in Season 2

Season 1 was a deep dive—sometimes infuriating, sometimes heartbreaking —into how Christopher Duntsch (“Dr. Death”) was able to hurt so many people. 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/ [https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/] New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT #AdvoKAYtePodcast #HoldingHealthcareAccountable #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #DrDeath #HealthcareReform #MedicalMalpractice

BONUS Ep. 2: Laura Beil on Dr. Death — Healthcare, Cover-Ups, and Accountability

Christopher Duntsch made headlines. But if you zoom out, the bigger question is harder and more important: 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/ [https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/] New episodes every Wednesday at 9 AM CT #AdvoKAYtePodcast #LauraBeil #DrDeath #Wondery #PatientSafety #HealthcareAccountability #MedicalMalpractice #InvestigativeJournalism #HealthcareReform

BONUS Episode: “Bingo Doctor” Case — Patient Died While Doctors Played a Game

A 57-year-old man went in for what should have been a routine cataract procedure at an outpatient surgery center… and never came home. Full story: https://www.vanweylaw.com/insights/deadly-routine-eye-surgery/ [https://www.vanweylaw.com/insights/deadly-routine-eye-surgery/]  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/ [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

Ep. 13: Other Dr. Deaths in Healthcare — Patient Safety Failures & Accountability (Kay Van Wey)

What if Christopher Duntsch wasn’t the exception… but the warning? 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/ [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

Ep. 12: How Hospitals Avoid Reporting Bad Doctors: NPDB Loopholes + Texas Tort Reform

If you’ve ever wondered why patients can be permanently harmed by a preventable medical error and still struggle to find answers, accountability, or justice—this episode is for you. 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... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbm9sZ2hKbXY4c0xLbUYzbFh1bnkzVk4tQ3Q4Z3xBQ3Jtc0tud3pWOWlHOFg1dW4xYXhhNXdFODJsN0tlR3RqZzB2NXMxR0ZRNHdjcl91dWloTDlsdnFzWjRwNGJJcG9CTVFscDhYSlF2YnJ6S1lrcktBb2RxbzdwMEpEOHo5cWM2YmNnNGlkcW5LQ2FCamhPY2tYVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanweylaw.com%2Fadvokayte-podcasts%2F&v=8p24VBjZ0vA] Watch/Listen here: ▶️ YouTube playlist:  • AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable!  [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkHeCiHkuBKBKovGHFkPpNRfbYQ-OAbBU] 🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Vvmpsj... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU9VNW4tMkdTR3U0aHI0WHVPZHZLcUh4VDdXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsakI5SkpTSk5zZWNKY1ozUGZldFluVnhoLTUyMHhJdGJfYmNQRDBfZHhEQWVKbmVGTVZEaHR5ejRXQ0MyYnVtWF9fYmZfZGFKcmxMVXVzRWdpYnZqbkw5ang5WVl4TkVPbXJNa241N2ptQXBrVmFtSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fshow%2F0VvmpsjsrDQYDZ0pLyDdoN%3Fsi%3Db1839b1b5f7042e1%26nd%3D1%26dlsi%3D56e34f11fdc0448f&v=8p24VBjZ0vA] 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1EzSFFBYk1jZF90d0NvaktRUkNNVjJCSjJIUXxBQ3Jtc0ttRzAxOWgyWUJRaFI4T0lQci1DWGRRanVidEJFam5obTdiUzFacllEdnBLU19FOXh4TXBsM0RGRHZTV1JBbHZEb0JCVHpkZTNqXzZzQ2Qxc19CdGFxOHFfUWNsdFhRUXhkc0VSaGdPQV9zaUZfQmFtdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fadvokayte-holding-healthcare-accountable%2Fid1850785096&v=8p24VBjZ0vA] 💬 Question for you: Should hospitals be fined when they don’t report dangerous doctors to the NPDB? . . #AdvoKAYtePodcast [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/advokaytepodcast] #HealthcareAccountability [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/healthcareaccountability] #PatientSafety [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/patientsafety] #TexasTortReform [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/texastortreform] #NationalPractitionerDataBank [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/nationalpractitionerdatabank] #NPDB [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/npdb] #MedicalMalpractice [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/medicalmalpractice] #PatientRights [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/patientrights] #HealthcareReform [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/healthcarereform] #DrDeath [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/drdeath] #KayVanWey [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/kayvanwey] #AnneRoberts [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/anneroberts]