Stephen Hart, MD

If you don’t want to take responsibility for your health, or you’re a hypochondriac and prefer to pop pills, then you probably shouldn’t see Dr. Hart. He will give it to you straight and he’s definitely not part of the run-​of-​the-​mill establishment. He’s always given me the time I needed and I’ve never felt rushed during my appointments. Yes Dr. Hart is quirky but I feel like he knows what he’s talking about. I’m just amazed at the poor reviews. Every interaction with Dr. Hart has been positive.

I’ve been to Dr. Hart at least 10 times since moving to the area in 2011. I have always found him to be patient, informed and helpful. These negative reviews are simply mind-​blowing to me and I almost wonder if there’s some other «Dr. Hart» in the area and the reviews are being mixed up. I’ve never felt like I was «on the clock» in fact sometimes our consultations have lasted 45 minutes or more.
I really appreciate how Dr. Hart sees prescriptions as a last resort instead of the typical «Here take this pill. Next!» approach of the typical healthcare provider these days. There’s no rush, no pushing of meds here.
Some of these reviews actually sound like parodies. Someone says they were actually offended when he advised them to stop eating fatback? Are you kidding me? That’s his job! To protect your health! Fatback is an extremely unhealthy food choice and if you expect your doctor to approve of you trying to kill yourself dietetically, yes then you should find another doctor, maybe one like Dr. Nick Riviera.

Great bed side manners, very knowledgeable and very nice. He genuinely card, even told me email on Sunday to let him know if I was better

I don’t typically write reviews, but my experience with ‘doctor’ Hart was so bad I feel the need to go out of my way to warn others.
Stephen Hart is rude, arrogant, seems not to have time to really care about you, and thinks he is infallible.
My first issue with him was when he essentially kicked me out of his office to see another patient because he was running behind, although I wasn’t finished asking him important questions about my health. He said we’d have to schedule another appointment if I had more questions — are you kidding me?! But that’s not even the worst part. When I first saw him, he gave me his card and wrote what I thought was his personal back office phone number (not his secretaries front office number). I ended up calling the number about a prescription question, and left my number according the to the message I heard. The next day he sent me a scathing email about how his pager number is for emergencies only, and I would have to be stupid not to ignore the front office’s prompt that clearly states such, and would no longer be seeing me as he couldn’t work with someone who ignores rules. I replied back that I never had the opportunity to hear the prompt asking one not to call his pager number if the call was not an emergency, because I called the number HE gave me in the first place, so I never needed to call his office!
He couldn’t understand that there was another avenue to reaching his pager number, which was him giving it out! Never did he warn me that the number was for emergencies only, so I could I have known? I tried apologizing saying he didn’t tell me, but he wouldn’t have any of it, and would «never make such a mistake» (again, he thinks he’s infallible and arrogant). I ended up sharing a picture of the card with the number on it and he still refused to confess he made a mistake. He called me a liar and accused me of forgery! He called me childish by trying to blame someone else.
After seeing all was lost, I told him that I would write negative reviews of him, in which he said people who write reviews are, «akin to whining dogs.» So if you’re on this site, he thinks your a dog… He’s behind the times, doesn’t care what people think of him, ignores the negative reviews, and doesn’t care about you if you don’t agree with him.
He’s an absolute joke of a ‘doctor’. If you’re looking for doctor who carries your insurance, pass on him, and find someone else. He doesn’t deserve anyone’s business, and shouldn’t be trusted with the caring for the health of others. He’s looking to make as much money before he retires (which honestly, he should have done a long time ago), as is evident by the fact I would need to schedule another appointment just to ask questions, which means more money for him.
Please read the other reviews of him, this isn’t a one time poor event, there are numerous other examples similar to this one.
DO NOT SEE HIM!!!

This doctor is either unqualified or just stupid.
My boyfriend went to Dr. Hart with serious concerns regarding his stomach pains and projectile vomiting that he was having for 4 months. Dr Hart told him «buy a book on healthy vegetables, that should help» and told him to stop taking his medications.
After seeking consultation from another doctor (with a brain) we now found out that he has some serious liver damage.
avoid dr hart.
he should not be a doctor.

I would not recommend this doctor went to Dr Hart when he was located on Miliva in Berkeley. I suffered with bad headache and had white coat pressure at each visit. I ask for help for headache and was told by Dr Hart that I needed to stop eating fatback just rude. I was not a pork eater. I was sent to UCSF for headache to get meds but I still felt sick. I ask Dr Hart to run test but he refused. I was 22 years of age. Fast Forward… years later end up in emergency room due to not being treated for high blood pressure which shows in the inside and provide Dr Hart staff with a indication with white coat pressure but they disregarded the signs. This showed me that Dr Hart did not care and it make it hard for me to think that today he would be no different. I have damages inside because of this.

First off… People should not use Unilocal as a form of Therapy. Get a life people! Found this doctor on Zoc Doc. The appointment process was super easy, even was able to do registration forms online. Office was busy the day I went so I had a bit of a wait. Always annoying but didn’t expect less from a doctors office. The girl at the front desk was friendly and apologized for the wait, Doc was informative, gave me what I needed and sent me on my way, I needed a referral and was told I would get a call from the other office. Process was fast and got a call within the week. complaints; Parking garage can be a bit expensive even though they validate for half and I had to ask if they validated. Now FYI now I know there is free 2 hour parking in neighborhoods a few blocks away. Also, my records took a bit longer than expected to arrive, not sure what the hold up was. Overall, good experience.

I really wish I could leave this place 0 stars — not only that, I should’ve checked Unilocal before visiting this place (I would’ve known better than to give this place a try). Instead I looked at ZocDoc and was totally deceived.
First of all, I went to my appointment, and I was 6 minutes late — okay, I admit, that was my fault. But as soon as I walked in, the rude receptionist said, «Didn’t you get the memo on ZocDoc? We canceled your appointment this morning.»
What?! Why didn’t they call me and let me know? It’s not like I check ZocDoc every hour of the day to see if an appointment got canceled or not. Why would I go back and do that after I got confirmed for a time? She then proceeded to blame ZocDoc saying that the site has been weird, booking patients during times when other patients have already been booked. Um, I didn’t face this problem with any other doctors so I don’t know what she’s talking about.
Second, she then started blaming ME! She said, «Well, you rescheduled twice in the past already so the doctor thought you weren’t even coming today anyways.» Um, I rescheduled in the past — yes. But if I thought I wouldn’t make it again, I would have rescheduled, no?
The receptionist needs a brain. I am honestly never this mean but the receptionist could’ve taken 1 minute to give me a call and inform me the appointment has been canceled instead of making me drive 2 hours round trip. How lazy. I would NEVER EVER go back to this place. Avoid this place– seriously.

I first went to Dr. Hart because my insurance referred him as a travel doc. He did meet my needs in this capacity. Our regular doc retired a few months later, so my husband and I thought we should try Dr. Hart. Worse decision ever. My neighbor warned me. She said she heard he was quacky. I should have listen to her. This guy is weird. He gives quacky advice and his office staff is terrible. They do not record payments properly when you pay your deductible. It always takes a few phone calls to get this fixed. Dr. Hart also makes careless mistakes. He doesn’t check the correct boxes, so you have to retake lab work (on your dime). Over the two year period, he «required» me to come in for weird reasons. I think just to make a buck.
They totally messed up on a prescription and I was leaving town. Blamed it on the pharmacy. When I checked the pharmacy hard copy that the doctor sent over, he clearly lied to me to. So I paid for the office visit, paid for the lab work to get my annual prescription for my thyroid meds refilled and he only authorized a month. In my opinion it was only to get me back in for another visit and pay more $. Never had any issues like this with my past doctor.
It is hard to put down in writing the weirdness, the frustration with him and his staff, but please beware. In my opinion there are much better choices available to you.

You want to hear this guy rant on about Biology in a condescending tone and not get your medical issue addressed? Then by all means, get an appointment with him. You can get an appointment with him at any time you’d like, since this guy has no patients and uses ZocDoc to get them. Don’t be fooled like I was. The good doctors are busy because they are good. I have a low platelet count (which he didn’t test me for), and pretty obvious symptoms and he told me to put together a food journal for 2 weeks. Then he told me to cut dairy out of my diet and I’d be fine. This guy is a joke. He also scheduled me an appointment on a Friday and cut it short saying he had a meeting he had to go to. Sorry that I was an inconvenience for you, guy. Not.

Dr. Stephen Hart is excellent. He’s very straightforward, respects the time he has with you and helps you get to the root of any issue you might be having. He asks lots of questions, empathizes and offers very meaningful paths to take to solve a problem. He tends to look at the bigger picture of wellness, which is what I appreciate most. On top of that, he’s super charming and witty, which makes it always a pleasure. Totally recommended.

If I could give Dr. Hart 0 stars I would. Dr. Hart is unbelievably rude and curt, and made me feel rushed and invalidated about my concerns. I rarely go to the doctor, so when I do, I expect to be heard.
Aside from the fact that Dr. Hart told me I would be a barrista upon hearing my major at Cal, he completely rushed me threw both of my appointments (I can’t believe I went back to this ass hole), and didn’t give me ANY time to explain how I was feeling.
I arrived to my appointment today expecting to talk about 2 major symptoms that were worrying me. Without greeting me, Dr. Hart jumped in to asking about my first ailment. When I replied that I was seeing him for two reasons, he said that there was absolutely no time to do so as he squeezed me in.
I understand that doctors sometimes try to squeeze in patients, but Dr. Hart was less than apologetic and didn’t once offer to have me schedule another appointment at a later date. I feel belittled every time I go to see him, and after writing this post I will be getting myself a different doctor.
DO NOT GO TO THIS DOCTOR WHATEVER YOU DO.

I would strongly suggest to avoid Dr. Hart. I went to him because of the good Unilocal reviews and because I wanted to make sure my Blue Shield Insurance covered my visits.
The first visit, he was friendly and ordered the screenings I wanted. When I realized later that some of the screenings I wanted hadn’t been ordered, I called in to order them and Dr. Hart asked to have another visit with me before ordering the tests.
When I went in the second time, I asked if my insurance covered the visit. Dr. Hart was rude and abrupt, telling me «he wouldn’t play this game with me». Confused, I asked for help, explaining that I was trying to avoid co-​pays for the visit (my insurance covers screening visits). Instead of trying to help me understand, he became even more irate and said he wouldn’t give me any information or help me understand.
This kind of harsh, aggressive behaviour from a doctor is certainly not something I would pay to receive. I would strongly advice to avoid this practice, as there are plenty of other caring doctors out there.

I am a 61 year old man and I have never written a review or complained about a Physician before, however, if I can save one person the horrible experience I had then I felt compelled to do so. On November 11, 2013 I had a stent placed in my heart. Due to a change in Health Care Plans I had to change Primary Care Physicians. After what I thought was a diligent search I chose Dr. Hart. January 6, was my first appointment. Needless to say the first thing I discussed was the stent and my need for a referral to a Cardiologist as I was due for a follow-​up with my Cardiologist, no longer in my new medical plan. Dr. Hart’s response was «you don’t need a Cardiologist». When I tried to question this, his only response was medical research backed him up, and the only problem I had, that we had to work on was my being fat. Yes I am overweight from quitting smoking, (because one year ago my former internist informed me I had significant blockage of the arteries to my heart and the beginning stages if emphysema and I had to quit smoking, which I immediately did), however, nothing excuses his dismissive attitude to follow-​up care by a cardiologist six weeks after surgery to have a stent placed in my heart. Runnnnn, don’t walk to any other physician.

I’m a bit conflicted and almost feel bad giving this review. Dr. Hart is likely a nice person. However, my experience with him as a physician was horrendous.
I pre-​filled out my information online so his receptionist had all of my info when I arrived. I was told my appt was at 2:30, and i showed up at 2:24. They took me back on time and I thought things were off to a good start. Dr. Hart then came into the room and started telling me how I was 15 minutes late. Instead of realizing no one told me to come earlier, he just kept telling me that I was wrong while i respectfully said I arrived at 2:24. This went round an round for what seemed like 5 minutes, but I moved past it and was ready for a good appointment.
I was at the Dr. because i was having a skin issue that wouldn’t go away. I told him that I didn’t eat much meat and i was curious about getting a blood test as well. I told him i hadn’t had one in over a year, and would be glad to pay for one. He assured me that I was too young for one (i am 32 years old) and all my problems were from eating sugar. I’m 6’1″ 175 lbs by the way. I had to ask 5 times for the referral for the blood work before he finally agreed. I have no idea why.
The disturbing part was that he left the room 3 times during our quick 15 minute appointment to see if other patients were ready. It really disrupted the flow and I’d have to re-​start. Then he had the nerve to say that he overbooks Fridays and that they are busy. WTF? Am I crazy for thinking the Dr. shouldn’t leave the office 3 times during a 15 minute visit. If he listed as well as he told stories, maybe that would be helpful.
He sent me a $ 20 bill for my co-​pay after 60 days. I promptly ripped it up and would rather get a ding on my credit than pay anything else for that horrendous service. I hope he improves in the future and starts to listen to patients. Again, probably a nice human being, horrible physician.

I like this guy.
Went to Dr. Hart because he’s one of the few travel doctors in the area and I was in need of a typhoid vaccine. (I’m serving a mission in the Czech Republic and the LDS Church requires that we get a long list of immunizations serve.) Anyway, I was in and out in less than 45 minutes, even though I’m not traditionally a patient of his. We had a lovely chat about travel and journalism. He gave me some reading material on basic travel medicine and water borne diseases. He gave me the pills and instructions. And then I was on my merry way.
I was impressed with his knowledge, particularly because most people aren’t familiar with the Czech Republic. (The average person still thinks it’s Czechoslovakia.) I like his personality. If I were going to stay in the area, I’d definitely see him again. All doctors visits should be this simple.

Nice enough I guess. Yet the self-​centered dictator comes through. He will tell you cool stories till the cows come home but has no time for one of yours. He has a schedule to maintain! Lol. Told him I need a prescription for asthma rescue inhaler. He said, «no, just meditate.» Obviously not going back. 2 stars for interesting stories.

Dr. Hart rocks!
He has a holistic approach, living in Berkeley I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want that. Isn’t that the reason we’re all here? Anyway, perfect for my needs and really detailed in his assessment of my health. I liked that he asked a ton of lifestyle based health questions, that meant that he put changes in daily habits above any medications most doctors try to pedal. Admittedly I’m a bit of a worrier, someone who thinks I’m at risk for any and all desieses and cancers so I asked a lot of questions. Dr Hart was patient, and explained everything so I could easily understand. He also allowed me to get a few silly tests that confirmed I wasn’t going to die anytime soon.
Thanks Doc, I feel better already.

I’d like to thank everyone that wrote negative reviews for this doctor. It was your negative and details provided that made me feel like he would be a great fit for me.
I went to visit Dr. Hart a few days ago for a physical and it was the best decision I think I’ve made when it comes to choosing a doctor. He dedicated about 30 minutes to my appointment which I’ve never experienced and was super detailed. He asked questions that were important regarding my health and was honest about how my diet affects the functionality of my body. He was gentle in his approach but made it clear that I need to make small changes to improve my life in general.
I love that he explained the evolution of man and how it affects our decisions and how we eat in 2011. He said, «It’s not your fault. Man has evolved in such a way that we are no longer hunter gatherers but we are reaching for what’s widely available which unfortunately is saturated with high amounts of sugars, preservatives and other unhealthy stuff.» Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Lol
I have another appointment in 3 weeks as a follow up and I really look forward to it. He gave me a card with his email address and is open to sharing healthy recipes with me. He strikes me as a doctor that’s more into the natural approach to life and that takes what he does seriously. He’s very intelligent about nutrition and he’s good about sharing information in a very matter of fact way. I’m a blunt and to the point kinda gal so this approach suits my personality well.
If you’re into doctors that don’t follow the standard script… meaning, they look at medication as the remedy to everything, Dr. Hart is your man.

Dr. Hart has the full range of reviews: glowing 5 stars and upset 1-​stars. Strangely enough, I agree with them all. It’s great insight into how different people respond differently to the same treatment.
Here’s the deal: Dr. Hart takes a slightly different approach to healthcare than most. On the one hand, he takes time with you, explains things, and makes sure he’s reachable if needed (love it that he hands out his email address). On the other hand, he’s got a treasure trove of wacky medical theories which range from harmless to helpful. For example, back pain is dismissed with an explanation about evolution and vine-​swinging monkeys — interesting, and quite possibly true, but the recommended treatment of hanging from a pull-​up bar like a monkey had little effect for this patient.
Net-​net: I’d probably go back to Dr. Hart again if I moved back to the area. I’d rather see a conscientious doctor with a couple of wacky new ideas than one who goes by the book but only gives me 2 minutes of his time.