How did “Dr. Death” Christopher Duntsch keep getting hired by hospitals… even after maiming and killing patients?
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:
- How Duntsch was able to move from hospital to hospital despite catastrophic outcomes
- How hospitals can quietly push out problem physicians without triggering NPDB reporting
- The legal tricks (like 29-day suspensions) used to avoid filing reportable actions
- Why only about half of U.S. hospitals have EVER reported a clinical privileges action
- The stunning reality that 1.8% of doctors account for half of all malpractice payouts—yet most never face serious discipline
- Why patients cannot access NPDB data on their own doctors
- What would have to change—legally and politically—to prevent “the next Dr. Death”
You’ll also learn:
- What the National Practitioner Data Bank is and why Congress created it
- How hospitals, medical boards, and insurers are supposed to use it
- 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
- PhD in Government, specializing in public law and research methodology
- Former director-level leader at the National Practitioner Data Bank, overseeing research and secretarial review of disputed reports
- 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?
What is AdvoKAYte: Holding Healthcare Accountable?
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.