Stephen D Emmet, MD, Inc

Been going here almost 10 years. Dr. Emmet is excellent. Yes, you need a sense of humor and yes he charges for his services… if you don’t like either try something else.

My husband developed a painful rash on his neck. Went to his Gen Pract first, gave him topical cream, pain got really bad, went to an urgent care center — also treated the rash, now 5 days later husband in really bad pain and half his face became paralyzed (like Bells Palsey). Got in to see Dr Emmett immediately on friends recommendation. He immediately diagnosed as shingles. Unfortunately the window to treat effectively is 3 days — due to 2 misdiagnoses he now has partial paralysis.
Who cares what his office looks like and if he has a quirky personality — definitely recommend him for his medical skills!

Doctor has condescending, sexist attitude, the office is dated with rock hard benches and a tiny bathroom (non-​ADA compliant). There was a miscommunication with his answering service regarding office hours, which he first blamed on «the young ladies at my front desk», then on the answering service staff who misread his scrawled fax. No accountability was acknowledged or apology given. His ribald humor may be fine for the geriatric Borscht Belt crowd, and my 92-​year old father liked him, but I terminated further care. He was hostile about my involvement as an advocate, asked me to leave the exam room (I refused) and doesn’t have any professionalism. For what it’s worth, my father’s precancerous lesions were mostly effectively treated. However, the doctor ignored a lesion on his head, dismissed it as a scaly bump, gave him skin lotion — it was then biopsied by another dermatologist for squamous cell cancer. It was infected and required further treatment. Also note: my father fell a month ago, was in Scripps hospital receiving emergency care, and his skin was in bad shape. I called Dr. Emmet and asked if I could send a picture of his face as the Doctors were concerned and needed some input. His flippant comment to me was «I don’t do tele-​dermatology, honey.»
Use another dermatologist if you can. This doctor needs to retire.

So… I had this dark freckle show up under my arm — I figured heck — I’m fair skinned — couldn’t hurt to get it checked out. I searched on Unilocal and decided to go here. I called on Weds and was given a Friday apt — sweet.
The office is no frills — thanks — I don’t want to pay for your interior decorator.
Let me just say, Dr. Emmet is straight to the point after a stern talking to about the sun… blah.blah. I get it doc!
Turns out its just a freckle — no worries. I did have a full body check (you have to get completely naked) and now I’m relieved!
And, only $ 25 co-​pay. Well spent
FYI: this is not the guy to go to for the whole cosmetic face peel thing — I’m sure he would do it but he’s not in it for the money. He’s more medical than cosmetic.

I highly recommend Dr. Emmet if you are in need of skin therapy from a professional and reputable dermatologist. Dr. Emmet offers a pragmatic approach to solving any of your skin issues.
Mild breakout? Contact dermatitis? Severe pigmentation? I can personally vouch that Dr. Emmet has a remedy for each of the aforementioned skin afflictions: I suffered from and survived them all.
My family has been friends with Dr. Emmet and his wife, Yuki, for years. I fondly recall my first visit to Dr. Emmet’s office way back in the day. Dr. Emmet agreed to see me with less than 24 hours notice. My concerned father explained to Dr. Emmet over the phone in rapid Japanese (FYI: Dr. Emmet is fluent in Japanese) that I burned my hand from a clothes iron. After a warm, heartfelt greeting of «what the hell did you do that for, Emi-​chan?» followed up with a quick examination of the accidental self-​inflicted burn wound, Dr. Emmet sent me out the door with a written prescription for a topical cream. A week later my wound healed with no visible scars.
Tips: Dr. Emmet appreciates honesty and thorough details. Be sure to tell him exactly what all you slathered on your skin so he can make the proper diagnosis. Also, unless you have superb medical insurance (e.g., PPO health plan), be prepared to pay out-​of-​pocket expenses.

I walked into this office for the first time and was not greeted or welcomed by anyone as the receptionist ran out the door to talk with someone outside. The visit only continued to get worse… after a 30 minute wait in the reception area I was finally taken back to see the Dr. Emmet and from the moment he walked in he was rude and abrasive. He scolded me for using my phone to text as he walked in (I was actually sending an email to a client while I waited on him to come in and then shut my phone off), and then he scolded me and gave me a very hard time for finding him on the internet (actually Aetna’s navigator and doctor locator site for my network). Instead of welcoming me and actually being somewhat friendly to a new patient he made me feel unwelcome and like a nuisance. He spoke to me as though I was a small child (I am 32 years old) and continued to badger me to the point that I asked him if I had done something to make him upset or offend him (even though I had never met this man before nor had I spoken to him). He was completely unprofessional, unfriendly, and just a jerk overall. I feel sorry for anyone working for him or who has to deal with him on a daily basis. I do not recommend him in any way shape or form. I was so offended by his behavior that I told him this was not what I had in mind for my visit and I left– I walked out of the appointment and asked for my personal information back. I have never walked out of a doctor’s office in my entire life. I’m from the east coast and would not find this behavior tolerable on the west or east coast or anywhere else for that matter. I will look for a doctor with a good bedside manner and some people skills as well as the ability to give good advice. This man should not be seeing patients.

I went in for a 15 minute checkup after reading about Dr. Emmet on Unilocal,I thought it would be a good experience. The waiting room was pretty funky. I got there on time, waited 20 minutes, then was led to an examining room. I sat in an old dermatologists chair from the 60s, waited 20 more minutes, then he came to see me. He was a nice enough guy, we chatted about the east coast, it was fine. Then I got the bill, it was $ 175 for a 15 minute visit. I’m lucky I had good insurance.
Anyway, this all would have warranted three stars, except when I had a question about my bill, I had to call every day for a week and a half. I left 4 messages over the course of two weeks. My calls were never answered, and I had no choice but to pay my bill uninformed.
It was far from a great experience, and it certainly isn’t how a «fabulous one of a kind genius» would be running a dermatology practice.

this guy is hilarious… you have to have a good sense of humor though or else you won’t like him. I love him though. The thing that is great about him is he won’t cut moles out of you unless they need to be cut out. A lot of dermatologists out there just take things off just because (I personally think its to get the $$) — but Dr. Emmet will only take something off if it is a problem.

Dr. Emmet can be trusted to check your skin issues out carefully. I had some slides re-​evaluated by him as a second opinion before having surgery. The «probable melanoma» was found to be a freckle, and the other spot was easily removed by freezing it off rather than cutting it out. As he says frequently, he’s not in this for the money. He doesn’t do cosmetic stuff, and he hates, hates, hates the sun, so be prepared to hear about it when you go to the office. I just tell him that I don’t plan to stop surfing and running any time soon, so I’ll just get checked a little more frequently. I didn’t give him five stars here because I actually would like a dermatologist who does it all – makes me glamorous instead of just healthy – but I’m actually quite impressed with him. It’s easy to get an appointment, he’s funny in a New Yorker, sun-​hating kind of way, and I am delighted to find someone who isn’t going for the maximum treatment, which the three others whom I’ve seen recently seemed to do.

Too often have I been let down by the medical professional field, but Dr. Emmet is quite the exception (based on my 1^st visit).
I was referred to Doctor Emmet by a Planned Parenthood clinic who had provided me with a short list of local dermatologists, who offer «cash» discounts for the uninsured, for an unidentifiable rash that neither PP nor Community Health Clinic could properly identify.
First of all, the referring nurse practitioner highlighted another office/​doctor as being easy/​prompt to schedule an appointment but learned that they couldn’t book me an appointment for another 2 months! In contrast Dr. Emmet’s office booked me an appointment for the NEXT morning.
Dr. Emmet’s office is located in a small outdated single-​story office building. The staff was pleasant. The seating is basic but comfortable. But, my experience with the doctor was great. He quickly and confidently diagnosed my skin lesion and he seemed to care about my situation as though I were his relative. He gave me earnest and clear recommendations for treatment and follow up care. And the pricing (considering I don’t have health insurance) was unbelievably fair.
I will return to him for any future dermatological needs and hopefully positively confirm this first encounter.
Also, in «Googling» Dr. Steven Emmet, it appears that he is also affiliated with Scripps Healthcare (La Jolla).

Excellent dermatologist! very knowledgeable and funny. Great staff!