I've been a patient at Comprehensive Pain Center on and off since 2016 - but no longer, following a distressing experience with nurse practitioner, Gabrielle Kallmeyer. Ms. Kallmeyer repeatedly cut me off mid-sentence. She yelled at me to, "leave the practice," while physically and aggressively following me - when I asked the medical assistants to ask the practice owner, Dr. Mark Matsunaga to call me.
I last received prescriptions from CPC in May 2020. I did not feel I needed pain management and opted to stop taking the medications CPC prescribed. I'd done this previously. During an Oct. 3, 2021, ER visit for a painful infection, I was prescribed tramadol - 10 pills, with no refills. In April, I was prescribed narcotics following minor surgery. Today Ms. Kallmeyer accused me of "doctor shopping" because I was prescribed very limited amounts of narcotics in those two specific situations. I had not been seen at CPC since May 2020 for pain management. I did not think I needed to ask CPC for permission to fill these prescriptions because I was not under CPC's care at the time.
Ms. Kallmeyer told me that because I hadn't formally withdrawn from CPC's care that I violated a contract I signed in 2016. She said I was required to inform CPC - which I hadn't seen in 11 and 17 months, respectively - that the ER doctor and surgeon had prescribed me narcotics. I questioned Ms. Kallmeyer because my prior experience with Dr. Matsunaga and a previous nurse practitioner never involved them accusing me of knowingly violating their rules.
I asked what happens if you have an ER visit or surgery on a weekend. Ms. Kallmeyer claimed that all CPC calls are returned 24 hours/day. When I told her that calls are not always returned - which I know from personal experience, she became agitated and defensive, telling me how hard the CPC staff works. I responded that both things can be true: staff can be hard working, & calls are not always returned. I know because I had to call twice in order to make an appointment. I left a message that was never returned and had to call back and press other options to reach a live person.
I am a former award-winning health and medical journalist. I am glad that pain management practices exist and am sad to see a provider who treated me so terribly be in a position where she can quite literally cause harm to other patients, both in their physical conditions and their mental states. Providers, especially those who treat people in pain, should want to help, and not hurt, them.
No patient deserves to be disrespected. It was inappropriate, mean, rude, and unnecessary. She also disclosed that my prior CPC nurse practitioner was "let go" for not following the practice's guidelines. She was essentially saying - with no apology - that even though my prior experience with the practice was different than her description of the rules, it didn't matter because my prior CPC nurse was fired for not following their guidelines.
If there is truth to what happened to my prior nurse practitioner, then Ms. Kallmeyer disclosed personnel information about an employee to a patient - which is petty, small, and possibly illegal. My prior nurse practitioner was thorough, direct, and had a great bedside manner. Ms. Kallmeyer does not possess any of those qualities. Additionally, when I was seen in spring 2020 by Dr. Matsunaga, he did not bring up this issue, despite the fact I'd had a major orthopedic surgery in the previous year that required a prescription for narcotics to ease pain during recovery.
I will not go back to CPC, and I am considering writing a freelance article about this. Too often, patients - especially Black and other minority patients - are talked down to, talked over, and disrespected by medical providers who have not learned that ALL patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I am quite medically knowledgeable, and Ms. Kallmeyer cut me off every time I attempted to ask questions. To be clear: As a patient, my concerns matter. Dr. Matsunaga is wonderful, but Ms. Kallmeyer should be fired. read more
