SMART Pain Management, LLC - White Marsh

Reviews 4

DO

Donald Gill

I saw Dr. Felix Gurman on my first (and am extremely serious about this) and very last visit to this place. I have very chronic back pain and have been under the care of a Pain Medicine Doctor since August of 2006. Unfortunately, at 74 he retired from practice on 10/01/2015. I have been scrambling to replace him with a new pain management Doctor. After signing up on their Web Portal and reading a summary of todays visit, I dont know if I was more shocked or appalled by the half-truths and out and out lies I read in that summary. First, he stated we had a "very long discussion" about my current use of opioid meds (from my previous pain doc that I saw every 4 weeks for nearly 10 years, and the dosage I was on for the last 6 years). Back to the "very long discussion". The whole visit lasted no more than 20-30 minutes and the discussion about my current dose of opioid medications took up no longer than 10 minutes, tops! We must be from different planets or at the very least use different dictionaries about what "very long" means. The next sentence I have problems with, "Interventional procedures and PT have been discussed with the patient." At no time whatsoever was PT ever mentioned. In my opinion, an out and out lie. He did discuss his concerns with this medication load but remember, I have been on Opioid Therapy for nearly 10 years and on my current dosage for 6 of those 10 years. Every doctor I see is aware of every single medication I am prescribed, including my Liver Specialist who has me on a liver transplant list and has expressed no concerns about being on Opioid Therapy nor the amount prescribed by my previous Pain Medicine Doctor about any negative affects as it applies to liver metabolism. He also said we "discussed PT, chiropractor and acupuncture." There was NO discussion of these as possible treatments, only that I had limited or no success with these treatments in the past, and even the limited success was so short-lived as to be a waste of time and money. Another lie - " We also discussed adjunct meds such as neuropathic meds, muscle relaxants and NSAIDS." No such discussion ever took place. He stated that he would not be taking over opioid meds at this current dose and discussed weaning of meds prior to starting therapy there. In the meantime, "SMART Pain Management" and Felix Gurman, MDs idea of "SMART" Pain Management is for me (short of finding another Pain Management Doctor prior to running completely out of pain medication very soon) is to go through Opioid Withdrawal and have my pain level to skyrocket to the point that I will be totally non-functional. Now understand that I have already been through PT, TENS treatments (in the Doctors Office and at home), acupuncture, trigger point injections, steroid injections, NSAIDS and more that Im sure Ive missed, which is why I ended up using Opioid Therapy for the last 10 years in the first place. As my retired Pain Medicine Doctor told me years ago, "think of this as a very aggressive form of arthritis which has no cure. He told me that the "opioids would return some of my "quality of life", that I would be on Opioid Pain meds for the rest of my life and the best he could hope for was to keep me out of a wheelchair or totally bed-ridden for as long as possible." He told me that he was without a doubt my last stop, that there was no one else to go to. I provided records from every single office visit since August of 2006, MRIs, CT scans and X-Rays dating all the way back to 2002, which Dr. (and I use that term very loosely) Gurman never even bothered to look at. At best he didnt seem to care in the least of what the future holds in store for me and at the worst, he tells half-truths, out and out lies and maybe should consider going back into Medical Research where he came from. I certainly in the future have absolutely no desire and refuse to put my trust or my future health in the hands of such a man that refused to help me in any way, shape or form.

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CJ

CJ Hymiller

What did I like about it? NOTHING. This was for my dad. Appointment was made over a week ago, then the day before they call (repeatedly via answering machine), email, text. 7 times in an hour! I now have to miss work (and right before Thanksgiving and black Friday, so now I am losing money) then we have to now wait for the doctor to get seen. Theres four other people in the waiting room, including aa nice old man who is starving anddiabetic! The man needs to be seen so he can eat because he is getting sick, and the doctor isnt ready for anybody! This is the first and last time we will be coming here. They tell you nothing! Had no clue we were scheduling an appointment at the Westminster office (and they set if up for this appointment in whitemarsh). Had no clue where the place even was! And my favorite is that they have been taking my father back for 10 minutes now! I do not recommend this place to ANYBODY. Find some smarter pain management. 1 star is too many stars for this place!

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Helene Quinn

My first (& possibly last) visit was today. The place was packed, with only ONE seat available. Several mothers brought their kids (there were at least 8 kids there). I didnt get seen for 1-1/2 hours, so I talked to about 3 patients who said this was normal, the doctors & care givers were always late, charge you if YOU are late, basically just give shots & drugs. When I was finally seen, it was only for about 7 minutes. The doctor rushed me through & I felt like a number. He didnt even shake my hand when he met me & barely introduced himself. I had to slow him down to talk to me & give me eye-to-eye contact. I am not sure if I will go back. I felt sick to my stomach when I left, which tells me Im not in the right place. Later, my doctor assured me the integrity of Dr. Jari, so I may go & give them a try. If anyone has experience with this facility, please post, as my decision could be based on it. Thank you.

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JO

Joe Topolski

First and for most the reason why I give this facility one star is because I cannot rate them any lower. I have a total of nine fused disc in my neck and back I also have over 40 screws and wires throughout my legs back and neck. My surgeon sent me there for pain management and the doctor did I seen was Dr. M. I found her to be very rude unprofessional and would not even consider prescribing me the heavy pain medication I needed at the time. When I went back to receive my medical records to prove that she had not treated me they would not give them to me. I was told I needed to make another appointment in order to get them. I have never heard of such BS in my life. Anybody that is in pain do yourself a favor and stay away from smart pain. I for one would like to file a complaint with the medical board but it would probably not do you any good.

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