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 care
How cuts in reimbursement rates are forcing doctors to see more patients with fewer resources
Why a physician employed by a health insurance company may have goals that conflict with your best interest
How the financial pressures on independent practices directly connect to patient safety outcomes
What reasonable transparency in healthcare could actually look like and why it matters for every patient
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
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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.
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.
