Stephen J Carney, MD – Sutter Health

I don’t even think this doctor deserves a star! I have been really sick for almost 3 months having intermittent cough and fever. I drove 50 miles from my home all the way to San Mateo to have myself checked and the first words I hear from this doctor were «Are you lying»?! Omg! That is not something I expect from my primary doctor! SERIOUSLY!!! I came all the way here and you’re telling me im a liar??? This doctor thinks im making up stories like im pretending to be sick! I have been suffering too long and I have been desperate to get better. There is no way to describe how I felt that day. I felt hopeless and angry at the same time. I have no plans of going back to see this doctor. If he was just having a bad day it doesn’t matter! Don’t bring your problems to work! Patients should never be treated like how I was treated! I work in the medical field that’s why I know! HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!

After reading some of the negative reviews and recently switching from a PPO to Kaiser due to increasing costs of medical insurance, I wanted to share my positive experiences with Dr. Carney.
He was my primary care physician from 2006-​Feb 2013. He and his staff were always accommodating, helpful and very conscientious of my healtchcare. Dr. Carney routinely spent as much time with me as needed and I felt he listened to me and worked with me regarding any anxieties/​apprehensions I expressed. In my opinion, he was a good physician for any ailments that arose and helped me get back to health when needed.
I am sorry that I won’t be able to refer to him anymore with my new health insurance plan but I hope to be able to pick up a plan one day again with Dr. Carney.

Spoke with receptionist to make a new patient appointment for a complete physical. The day before the appointment, I contacted the office to discuss the appointment. Turns out your first appointment is a consultation. Only after asking the receptionist in detail about the appointment was this information shared. I believe a medical appointment should be just that, an appointment to have your physical health evaluated. This is a tactic to try to get more appointment visits per client. canceled the appointment and am going elsewhere for medical care.

Best internal medicine Dr. ever. I have been going to him for many years.

I’ve been Dr. Carneys patient since 2002. I feel very comfortable with his advice. He has helped resolve a number of health issues over the years. I don’t see myself going any where else.

I have been going to Dr. Carney for 5 years. In all that time he has never been unprofessional. He has followed up with me by calling me in the evening to make sure I was all right.
When I have questions he answers them and if I don’t like the answer I don’t blame him. He is telling you the truth, not what you want to hear.
I like Dr. Carney because he tells you the truth. He use to be a flight surgeon and he has the smarts too. He has always helped me and I like the staff. Wait times can be up to 30 minutes but that’s because he takes the time to listen. He’s a great doctor and I’m so glad I found him.
Lorri Platzeck Collins

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Carney’s for a few years now and I’ve been very pleased. He always takes the time to explain what he is doing, why he’s doing it and to answer my questions. I recently had a bit of a personal emergency that required seeing him immediately without an appointment. He went out of his way to see me that morning and I’ll be forever grateful. I would recommend him to a friend.

I’ve been going to Dr. Carney for several years now. I was looking for information on an ortho specialist when I came across these reviews. Ouch! My goodness. Not only do you have to be a good doctor these days but you have to win the Miss Congeniality competition also. I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Carney. He gives you all the time you need during your visit. He works with you. He’s not a specialist so he can only do so much before sending you to a specialist. What do you people want? What really fries me is that I’ve had so many bad experiences with so many doctors and when I look up their Unilocal reviews, there is nothing but glowing compliments. What? One of these 5 star doctors said to me (when I asked about my flaking toenails) and I quote…
«NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR! NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR! There’s nothing I can do about that!
He never even looked down at my toenails. But he has nothing but 5 stars reviews. I didn’t feel the need to run to Unilocal and put a negative review on that doctor’s site. Things happen. I often laugh about this experience with Dr. Carney. You people are too full of yourselves. Dr. Carney is a fine doctor.

I have been a patient of Dr. Carney since 2003.
He is the best doctor I have ever had.
I was referred to him by a coworker and have been extremely satisfied ever since.

Dr. Carney was pleasant, knowledgeable and attentive during my office visits. Recently I went to pick up my prescription and insurance did not cover it. I called Dr. Carney and he returned my call immediately then called the pharmacy to correct the problem. Dr. Carney is a wonderful doctor who is also there when you need him.

Dr. Stephen Carney has been our family physician for several years, and I’m surprised at the negative comment. He and his office have been extremely accommodating on urgent appointments and he has provided the best of care and professional diagnosis. We were referred to him by another trusted physician who uses Dr. Carney as his internist. Granted, it is a busy office, but that is because of the quality care received.

I have mixed opinions about Dr. Carney. I have seen him a couple of times for back pain and once for a general check up. The first two times (includes check up) I thought he was very easy to talk to and he made me feel at ease. The last time I went was for severe back pain and he really made me feel uncomfortable. He had prescribed Vicodin for the pain and referred me to a specialist. I had recently read something on vicodin and the FDA, when I inquired about it he reacted very defensively and indirectly implied I may have some problem. I am not sure if that was his intent, but I walked out of their thinking what an F’n jerk. Thankfully i have not needed to go back and I am not sure that I will. I give him 3 stars, because my first two experiences were ok and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was having an off day.
Although after reading some of these reviews and his alleged responses, I really have to question is he the right Dr. for me?

My experience with this doctor was similar to Ali’s.
This Doctor has some major issues to resolve.

This is the response I received after my post. My original point, exactly!
From Stephen C. (Dr. Stephen Carney, San Mateo):
I see you’ve taken the cowardly path and complained on ‘yelp’. I guess you just don’t have the courage to complain directly to me, you pathetic excuse of a hman being!

Made an appointment to discuss back and neck pain. After rudely telling me to «take my hat off you’re inside» he told me that he also has back pain and he just deals with it, and that is what I should do. Really, talking about himself? Talked about potential remedies I researched on my own, and he replied that I shouldn’t do that, rather should rely on Doctors to help. Also judged and scolded me on the fact I usually drink a few beers a day. After all that, offered no solution to help me. Left work for NO reason. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. LOOK ELSEWHERE. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!!