AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable

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Most people first heard of Kay Van Wey through the shocking true story of Dr. Death—the infamous Dallas neurosurgeon who maimed and killed patients. Kay stood up to him and the system that enabled him, fighting for the people whose lives he shattered. That case made headlines around the world, but for Kay, it was never about the spotlight. It was about the patients—the mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons—who deserved answers, justice, and dignity. Now, on AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay brings that same passion to a new mission: exposing a healthcare system that too often puts profits ahead of patient safety. With more than 40 years of experience as a medical malpractice attorney, Kay has seen firsthand the devastating impact of preventable medical errors—and uncovered their root causes. She calls out dangerous physicians, profit-driven hospitals, fraudulent schemes, and a system designed to keep patients in the dark. A lawsuit against a negligent provider can bring justice for the victims, but Kay is fighting for something bigger. She will always stand with individuals and families harmed by medical errors—but she is on a mission to reform the broken healthcare system that is vital to all of us... patients. This podcast is about more than cases—it’s about change. Patients need a voice. Their voices must be amplified—so loudly and so clearly—that politicians can no longer ignore them. Only then can we demand accountability, reform the system, and make healthcare safer for everyone. Because as Kay learned from Dr. Death—and countless other cases—the problems are fixable. What’s missing is the will to fix them. And that starts here. Knowledge is power. Strength comes in numbers. It’s time for patients to matter more than profits—and for preventable medical errors to end.

  1. 1d ago

    Ep. 11: 80% of U.S. Physicians Are Now Employed. Most Patients Do Not Know Who Is Really in Charge | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    If you are trying to figure out how to research your doctor before surgery, most people start with Google, but there is something more important you might be missing entirely. The system that trains and employs your doctor is under more pressure than it has ever been, and understanding that pressure may be the most important thing you can do before you ever sit down in that exam room. In Part 2 of their conversation, Kay Van Wey sits back down with healthcare insiders Chad Erickson and Barry Howell, the founders of Texas Best Docs, for an honest conversation about physician burnout, private equity in medicine, and what happens to patient care when the business of healthcare puts doctors under impossible pressure. Nearly 80% of physicians in America are now employed by hospitals, health systems, private equity firms, and even health insurance companies. Chad and Barry explain what that shift means for the doctors treating you, and why a burned-out, overworked physician is one of the most underreported patient safety risks in American healthcare today. By watching this episode you will understand: Why so many private practices are being bought by private equity and what that means for your careHow cuts in reimbursement rates are forcing doctors to see more patients with fewer resourcesWhy a physician employed by a health insurance company may have goals that conflict with your best interestHow the financial pressures on independent practices directly connect to patient safety outcomesWhat reasonable transparency in healthcare could actually look like and why it matters for every patient━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Why Plaintiff Lawyers and Healthcare Insiders Are Actually on the Same Side 4:45 Why Nearly 80% of Doctors Are No Longer Independent 7:30 What Happens When Private Equity Meets Medicine 11:30 Why Your Doctor May No Longer Have Final Say Over Your Care 15:45 The Independent Physician Is Surrounded — What That Means for You 18:30 The Hidden Cost Disparity Inside Healthcare Nobody Talks About 22:50 Why Burned Out Doctors Are a Patient Safety Crisis Nobody Is Naming ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Have you ever felt rushed through a doctor's appointment or like your physician was stretched too thin? Tell us about it in the comments. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team advocate for families affected by medical malpractice, hospital negligence, birth injuries, surgical errors, preventable medical harm, and unsafe healthcare systems.  Texas Best Docs: https://texasbestdocs.com/ Instagram: @texasbestdocs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/texas-best-docs/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasBestDocs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561142871852 AdvoKAYte Podcast: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/ Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/

  2. Aug 12

    Ep. 10: What Google Won't Tell You About Your Doctor | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    Most patients research their doctor the same way they research a restaurant, they Google it, skim the reviews, and hope for the best. But online reviews can't tell you if your doctor has been disciplined by the medical board. They can't tell you their complication rates, their readmission rates, or whether other physicians in your community are quietly steering patients away from them. And the data that could tell you all of that? Most of it is locked behind laws that prevent the public from ever seeing it. In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with Chad Erickson and Barry Howell two experienced healthcare administrators who have worked inside hospitals and large physician practice groups for an honest conversation about what patients can and cannot find out about their doctors, and what they built to start closing that gap. Chad and Barry are the founders of Texas Best Docs, a platform designed to give patients and physicians access to factual, objective information about providers, starting with Texas Medical Board actions, without the noise of pay-to-play directories or anonymous reviews. In this episode, they discuss: Why Google reviews are one of the worst ways to evaluate a physicianWhat Texas Best Docs is, how it works, and how it's different from pay-to-play directoriesWhat the Texas Medical Board actually tracks and what its limitations areWhy a clean record on the medical board does not necessarily mean a doctor is goodThe data that hospitals collect on every physician and why patients can never see itWhat the National Practitioner Data Bank is and why it is off limits to the publicHow to use CMS hospital data to make more informed decisions about your careThe best advice two healthcare insiders have for patients choosing a doctorDocWatch: how to get alerted when your doctor has a new Texas Medical Board actionOne of the most striking moments in this conversation is Kay's description of the data that exists inside every hospital, infection rates, complication rates, return-to-OR rates, and the reality that patients will almost certainly never have access to it. As Kay puts it, doctors have a right to privacy, but patients have a right to know if the surgeon they are about to trust has a pattern of outcomes that other surgeons do not. Kay also explores the uncomfortable truth that even people who work inside the healthcare system, administrators, practice executives, physicians themselves, struggle to get reliable information about the doctors they credential, hire, and refer patients to. The transparency problem is not just a patient problem. It is an industry-wide problem that nobody has fully solved. But this episode is not about making patients afraid to see their doctors. It is about building a healthcare system where: Patients have access to real, objective information about their providersOnline directories reflect facts, not marketing budgetsPhysicians are held accountable through data, not just reputationTransparency is treated as a patient right, not a liability riskBecause you cannot make an informed decision about your care with information you are never allowed to see. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team advocate for families affected by: Medical malpracticeHospital negligenceBirth injuriesSurgical errorsPreventable medical harmUnsafe healthcare systems Listen to more episodes of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/ Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, healthcare accountability, medical malpractice, hospital governance, physician burnout, peer review, medical ethics, hospital leadership, and patient advocacy. Thanks!

  3. Aug 5

    Ep. 9: Fake Boards, Rogue Doctors & the Truth About Cosmetic Surgery | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    Most patients assume that if a doctor has credentials on their wall, they are qualified to perform the procedure they are offering. But what happens when those credentials are fake, misleading, or completely unrelated to the surgery being performed on you? In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with Dr. Bruce Hermann, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, for a candid conversation about fake board certifications, unregulated office-based surgery, the explosion of med spas, and why patients are often the last to know when something is wrong. Dr. Hermann is a practicing plastic and reconstructive surgeon with over two decades of experience. He also hosts his own podcast, Nip Talk, where he educates patients about the world of aesthetics and plastic surgery. Together, Kay and Dr. Herman pull back the curtain on what patients need to know before they ever agree to a procedure. In this episode, they discuss: What board certification actually means and how to verify itWhy "triple board certified" is often a red flag, not a selling pointHow to use the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) to protect yourselfThe hidden dangers of office-based surgical suites with little to no oversightWhy some doctors practice procedures far outside their training, and how they get away with itThe explosion of med spas and what happens when the medical director is absent in name onlyWhat really happens when something goes wrong in an office settingThe growing corporatization of medicine and what it means for patient safetyAI in healthcare, promise, risk, and who is actually looking out for the patientOne of the most eye-opening moments in this conversation is Dr. Herman's honest account of what "triple board certified" actually means in the cosmetic surgery world, and why it is one of the clearest warning signs that a provider may not be who they say they are. Kay also explores the uncomfortable reality that patients are often not equipped to tell the difference between a legitimate board certification and a fake one, and that the burden of honesty falls entirely on the provider, not the patient. But this episode is not about scaring people away from necessary procedures. It is about creating a healthcare environment where: Patients can verify their doctor's credentials with confidenceOffice-based procedures are properly regulatedMed spas are held accountable to real standardsProviders are honest about what they are and are not trained to doBecause patient safety should never depend on a patient knowing which boards are real and which ones are not. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team advocate for families affected by: Medical malpracticeHospital negligenceBirth injuriesSurgical errorsPreventable medical harmUnsafe healthcare systemsListen to more episodes of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/ Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, healthcare accountability, medical malpractice, hospital governance, physician burnout, peer review, medical ethics, hospital leadership, and patient advocacy.

  4. Jul 29

    Ep. 8: Why Dangerous Doctors Sometimes Stay in Hospitals | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    Most patients assume hospitals closely monitor doctors and quickly step in when patient safety is at risk. But what really happens behind the scenes when concerns are raised about physician behavior, competency, professionalism, or patient harm? In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with physician leader and patient safety advocate Dr. Brijen Shah for an honest conversation about hospital governance, physician oversight, peer review, and the difficult balance between transparency, accountability, and protecting patients. Dr. Shah is a practicing gastroenterologist, geriatrician, educator, and physician leader within the Mount Sinai Health System. Together, Kay and Dr. Shah pull back the curtain on how hospitals actually oversee doctors, and why those systems sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. In this episode, they discuss: How hospitals govern physiciansWhat hospital peer review committees actually doWhy some dangerous doctors stay in practiceThe tension between hospital profits and patient safetyPhysician professionalism and accountabilityWhy healthcare systems need transparency and trustThe growing fear of retaliation, lawsuits, and secrecy in medicineWhy patient safety depends on strong hospital cultureOne of the most eye-opening moments in this conversation is the discussion about how hospitals balance protecting patients while also managing legal risk, physician shortages, financial pressures, and institutional reputation. Kay also explores the uncomfortable reality that some healthcare systems may prioritize business concerns over accountability, especially when high-revenue physicians are involved. Dr. Shah candidly explains why those pressures are real and why hospital leadership and physician governance matter more than patients realize. But this episode is not about attacking healthcare workers. It is about creating healthcare systems where: Doctors can speak up safelyHospitals prioritize integrityMistakes are learned fromPatients are protectedBecause accountability and patient safety should never depend on secrecy. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team advocate for families affected by: Medical malpracticeHospital negligenceBirth injuriesSurgical errorsPreventable medical harmUnsafe healthcare systems Listen to more episodes of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/  Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, healthcare accountability, medical malpractice, hospital governance, physician burnout, peer review, medical ethics, hospital leadership, and patient advocacy.

  5. Jul 22

    Ep. 7: Unfiltered: Kay Van Wey Goes Deeper on Why Medical Errors Keep Happening | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    What if most medical mistakes aren't caused by bad doctors or careless nurses, but by systems that were never designed to prevent human error in the first place? In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with Kalee Pair to break down one of the most important conversations of Season 2, her full interview with Dr. Matt Austin, a PhD-level patient safety expert and systems engineer who spent over a decade in the airline industry before bringing that same safety-first thinking to healthcare. Kay distills the science of patient safety into what every patient needs to understand: Why aviation is dramatically safer than hospitals, and what healthcare refuses to adopt from itHow the number of Americans dying from preventable medical mistakes is equivalent to three 747s crashing every single dayWhy bad systems, not bad people, are responsible for the overwhelming majority of preventable harmWhat the Swiss cheese model reveals about how catastrophic medical errors actually happenWhether human error can truly be engineered out of healthcare, and what it would take to get thereWhy good people who enter medicine for the right reasons sometimes get crushed by the system itselfThis episode is short, accessible, and genuinely eye-opening. Whether you are a patient, a healthcare worker, or someone who has ever trusted a hospital with your life, this conversation is for you. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team represent families affected by preventable medical errors, hospital negligence, birth injuries, surgical errors, and healthcare system failures. Because accountability in healthcare is not about blame. It is about building a system that is actually worthy of our trust.  Listen to the full Episode 2 conversation with Dr. Matt Austin: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/  Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/  Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, healthcare accountability, medical malpractice, hospital governance, physician burnout, peer review, medical ethics, hospital leadership, and patient advocacy.

  6. Jul 15

    Ep. 6: When Hospitals Make Mistakes: What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    Preventable medical errors are estimated to be the third leading cause of death in the United States. So why do they keep happening, and what do hospitals actually do when something goes wrong? In this episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay Van Wey sits down with healthcare executive and patient safety advocate Anne Roberts to answer both of those questions honestly. Anne has spent over 30 years inside hospital systems at the highest levels. She knows how errors are investigated, what gets reported, what stays confidential, and where the system falls short. Together, Kay and Anne cover: Why communication breakdowns between care teams are the leading cause of preventable medical harmWhat a Root Cause Analysis looks like when a serious safety event occursWhat hospitals are required to report, and what they aren'tWhy most of what happens after a medical error never becomes public knowledgeThe truth about informed consent forms and what patients should know before signing oneHow to be your own advocate inside a healthcare system that isn't always working in your favorKay also pulls back the curtain on something most patients have never heard of: hospital apology management programs. When something goes wrong, hospitals don't always lead with accountability. Sometimes they lead with kindness, and a team of lawyers working quietly in the background. It is one of the most important conversations in this episode, and one every patient should hear before they ever find themselves in that situation. This episode is honest, practical, and at times uncomfortable. But it is exactly the kind of conversation that helps patients and families protect themselves. At Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and her team represent families affected by preventable medical errors, hospital negligence, birth injuries, surgical errors, and healthcare system failures. Because accountability in healthcare is not about blame. It is about making sure what happened to your family does not happen to someone else.

  7. Jul 8

    Ep. 5: The System That Protects Hospitals Instead of Patients | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    What really happens when a hospital puts its bottom line ahead of patient safety? In Episode 5 of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey sits down with her law partner Luke Metzler, a nationally recognized birth injury and medical malpractice attorney, for a candid, eye-opening conversation about hospital liability, system failures, and why the same preventable medical mistakes keep happening year after year. This episode goes beyond individual negligence and exposes the institutional decisions driving preventable harm: How hospitals fail patients through system failures, not just individual mistakesWhy greed and bureaucracy block meaningful changeThe dangerous reality of unsafe nurse staffing levelsHow the "normalization of deviance" leads to catastrophic outcomesWhy nurses are the front line of patient safety, and what happens when they are silencedWhy filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can save lives beyond your ownLuke explains why almost every hospital negligence case is a system failure case, rooted in decisions made days, weeks, months, and years before anything goes wrong. From CEOs making "financial decisions" to eliminate overnight anesthesia at billion-dollar health systems, to nurses being forced to choose which critically ill patient to save when staffing runs out, this conversation is not theoretical. It is what Kay and Luke see in their cases every single day. Kay and Luke also address the question that weighs on nearly every client they represent: I'm not the type to sue anybody. Should I really do this? Their answer, grounded in decades of real cases and real change, makes the argument that accountability is not just about justice for one family. It is how the healthcare system gets better for everyone. This episode is for: Patients and families who have experienced hospital negligenceNurses and doctors frustrated by the systems they work withinHealthcare leaders who want to understand where institutional liability beginsAnyone who has ever wondered whether filing a lawsuit makes a real differenceAnyone who trusts a hospital with their life, which is all of usAt Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, Kay Van Wey and Luke Metzler advocate for families affected by: Medical malpracticeHospital negligenceBirth injuriesSurgical errorsPreventable medical mistakesHealthcare system failuresBecause accountability in healthcare is not about blame. It is about making sure the same mistakes do not destroy another family. And about building a healthcare system that is actually worthy of our trust. Listen to more episodes of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/ Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, medical malpractice, hospital negligence, birth injuries, nurse staffing, healthcare accountability, institutional liability, medical errors, and patient advocacy.

  8. Jul 1

    Ep. 4: Why Hospitals Influence Medical Decisions More Than Patients Realize | AdvoKAYte Season 2

    Most patients believe their medical care is driven entirely by their doctor’s decisions. But what many people never realize is how much hospitals, staffing levels, policies, financial pressures, and healthcare systems influence what happens behind the scenes. In this powerful episode of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, host Kay Van Wey continues her conversation with healthcare executive and patient safety advocate Anne Roberts about the hidden systems shaping patient care inside American hospitals. Together, they unpack one of the biggest misconceptions in healthcare: Doctors may make medical decisions, but hospitals still have enormous influence over the environment, staffing, resources, policies, and systems that affect patient outcomes every single day. Kay and Anne discuss: How hospitals regulate physicians and medical staffWhy nurse staffing levels directly impact patient safetyThe growing burnout crisis among doctors and nursesWhy “safe staffing” matters more than patients realizeHow hospital business pressures can affect care decisionsWhat happens when healthcare systems prioritize profits over safetyWhy communication breakdowns often lead to preventable medical harmAnne shares insight from her 30 years in healthcare leadership, consulting, and patient safety advocacy, explaining how good hospitals create cultures where doctors and nurses feel empowered to speak up when something is unsafe. Kay brings the perspective of a nationally recognized medical malpractice attorney who has spent decades representing families devastated by: Preventable medical errorsHospital negligenceSurgical mistakesBirth injuriesUnsafe healthcare systemsOne of the most eye-opening parts of this conversation is the discussion about how patients often judge hospitals by beautiful buildings, branding, and reputation — while never seeing the operational pressures happening behind the scenes. But this episode is not about fear. It is about helping patients ask better questions, understand how healthcare systems work, and recognize why accountability and transparency matter. Because every patient deserves safe care. And every healthcare worker deserves a system that supports doing the right thing. Listen to more episodes of AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable: https://www.vanweylaw.com/advokayte-podcasts/ Learn more about Van Wey & Metzler Law Firm in Dallas, Texas: https://www.vanweylaw.com/ Subscribe for conversations about: Patient safety, medical malpractice, hospital negligence, physician burnout, nurse burnout, birth injuries, healthcare accountability, medical errors, and healthcare reform.

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About

Most people first heard of Kay Van Wey through the shocking true story of Dr. Death—the infamous Dallas neurosurgeon who maimed and killed patients. Kay stood up to him and the system that enabled him, fighting for the people whose lives he shattered. That case made headlines around the world, but for Kay, it was never about the spotlight. It was about the patients—the mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons—who deserved answers, justice, and dignity. Now, on AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable, Kay brings that same passion to a new mission: exposing a healthcare system that too often puts profits ahead of patient safety. With more than 40 years of experience as a medical malpractice attorney, Kay has seen firsthand the devastating impact of preventable medical errors—and uncovered their root causes. She calls out dangerous physicians, profit-driven hospitals, fraudulent schemes, and a system designed to keep patients in the dark. A lawsuit against a negligent provider can bring justice for the victims, but Kay is fighting for something bigger. She will always stand with individuals and families harmed by medical errors—but she is on a mission to reform the broken healthcare system that is vital to all of us... patients. This podcast is about more than cases—it’s about change. Patients need a voice. Their voices must be amplified—so loudly and so clearly—that politicians can no longer ignore them. Only then can we demand accountability, reform the system, and make healthcare safer for everyone. Because as Kay learned from Dr. Death—and countless other cases—the problems are fixable. What’s missing is the will to fix them. And that starts here. Knowledge is power. Strength comes in numbers. It’s time for patients to matter more than profits—and for preventable medical errors to end.

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