Richard Vazquez, MD, FACS is a surgeon, educator, and author who has dedicated more than fifty years to advancing surgical practice and patient safety. His career spans the operating room, medical classrooms, and innovation in healthcare systems.

Early in his career, Dr. Vazquez served with the Illinois State Police as its Chief Medical Officer of the Emergency Medical Response System. He co-founded the EMRS unit with Jeremy Margolis, JD, Chief of the ISP — possibly the first instance of telemedicine in the United States. His leadership experience with the ISP carried forward into his surgical and academic work, where attention to detail and accountability became central to his practice.

He later transitioned into academic surgery and now serves as an Affiliated Services Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and an Emeritus Attending Surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Over decades, he trained countless young physicians while championing safer operating room design and practices.

Dr. Vazquez also holds several U.S. patents, has consulted widely on surgical safety, and has served as an expert witness in complex medical–legal cases. These real-world experiences now inform his writing. His debut novel, Damage$ Inside Moves – Mommy, Mommy Wake Up, draws directly from courtroom maneuvers and surgical missteps, revealing how lives are reshaped when medicine and law collide.

Today, he is the founder and CEO/CMO of SafeStart Medical, Inc., a platform designed to improve patient outcomes by preventing surgical “never events.” He continues to write, teach, and consult, bringing together medicine, law, and human drama in both professional and creative arenas.