If you have ever Googled a doctor before a procedure and felt like you were not getting the full picture, you were right. Hospitals track complication rates, blood loss averages, infection rates, and post-operative outcomes for every physician on staff. They know exactly who their safest surgeons are. That data is legally protected and you will never be allowed to see it.
In this episode, Kalee Dionne Pair puts Kay Van Wey back in the hot seat for a deeper dive on the most alarming moments from Episodes 10 and 11. Kay breaks down what hospitals actually know about your doctor, why the National Practitioner Data Bank exists but is off limits to patients, and what the Dr. Death case revealed about the secrecy that still puts patients at risk today.
By watching this episode you will understand:
What hospital data on surgeon outcomes actually looks like and why it is kept from patients and lawyers alike
What the National Practitioner Data Bank is and why patients cannot access it
Why nurses are often the most honest source of information about a doctor
Why your doctor's referral may not mean what you think it means
How the Dr. Death patients did their homework and were still actively misled because the right information was locked away
1:45 The Data Hospitals Have on Every Surgeon That You Will Never See
6:00 Why Patients Cannot Access Their Doctor's Complication Rates
8:30 The National Practitioner Data Bank and Why It Is Off Limits
10:50 Why Nurses Are Your Best Source of Honest Information
12:00 Why Your Doctor's Referral May Not Mean What You Think
13:15 How Dr. Death's Patients Were Misled Despite Doing Their Homework 14:45 Why These Problems Existed Long Before Dr. Death and Still Do ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Have you ever tried to research a doctor before a procedure and hit a wall? Tell us what you found, or didn't find, 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.
