Creve Coeur doctor under investigation for multiple allegations

A Creve Coeur doctor who is accused of dumping patient's medical records behind a shopping center last year now is a suspect in a forgery investigation.

On June 21, Alexander Kalk, M.D., who closed his family practice earlier this year, was brought to the St. Louis County Justice Center for questioning from both the Clayton and Brentwood Police Departments.

Don Schneider, spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch, said Clayton Police have turned over the case to St. Louis County and that the case is currently under advisement.

"It is an ongoing investigation and we do have something that we're reviewing," Schneider said.

Kalk was brought in for two counts of forgery and was a fugitive in Brentwood for petty larceny, said a jail clerk. Neither jurisdiction has filed charges, and Kalk was released pending application of an arrest warrant.

Kalk, 39, holds his physician’s license through the Missouri Board of Healing Arts. After numerous complaints that the board received, Kalk was subject to disciplinary action. Tina Steinman, director of the board, said the board currently is in negotiations with Kalk to determine what that action will be. If negotiations fail, a hearing will be scheduled to determine what action should be taken.

Complaints that the board received cover a broad spectrum of unusual behavior and allege that Kalk:

* Lived full time in his medical office, had discontinued bathing and wore the same clothing (without cleaning) for at least one week.

* Verbally berated patients and office staff.

* Issued payroll checks to employees that bounced due to insufficient funds.

* E-mailed threats and acted unprofessionally toward a medical billing service company. Kalk then offered narcotics to the owner of that company.

* Violated various state statues and regulations in regard to controlled substances kept in his office.

* Examined a female patient without a female staff member present and offered to help remove the patient's underwear.

The Creve Coeur Police Department investigated Kalk after employees reported their payroll checks were bouncing in January 2007. An investigator reported that during a conversation with the doctor, he tended to ramble and discuss other topics and acted unprofessionally. Kalk told the detective he was $300,000 in debt. In fact, multiple credit agencies and a landlord had sued Kalk.

The Missouri Board of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs investigated Kalk in 2006 after receiving complaints from staff members. During a visit from a narcotics investigator, it was found that Kalk had failed to keep an inventory of controlled substances or records of the samples he dispensed, officials said.

Since Kalk left his practice, his license to prescribe controlled substances has been revoked. The license originally was placed on probation status after he was found to not be in compliance with state regulations.

In March 2008, approximately 500 of Kalk's patient medical records were found in a dumpster behind a Manchester shopping center. The records contained private information, including patient's Social Security numbers, photographs, test results and medical histories.

The case has since been turned over to the U.S. Attorney General's office, which currently is investigating.