Stone Sue MD

Dr. Stone has been my primary physician for many years and I’ve always been happy with her care. Office staff is kind and responsive to questions.

Dr. Stone is a brilliant diagnostician who balances holistic and homeopathic care with traditional western medicine. She is kind, caring and takes the time to get to know you as a person. She also understands that not all treatment plans work for you as a patient and will work with you to find a plan that balances your needs and your health. For example Dr. Stone treats my ongoing health needs with a combination of effective traditional medicines and herbs and supplements. My husband on the other hand is less open to holistic approaches (although he will try them). She recognizes this and won’t push him into anything he does not want to try.
Her approach is both Western and Non-​western and she will partner with you as a team to find the balance that is most effective for you. She also understands that we are human and will not lecture you for not being able to follow a plan that she prefers. Instead she will look for a solution that will keep you healthy and you can follow. I am not saying that she won’t tell you that smoking is bad for you and give you options for quitting, but if she sees for example, that you have more important things to tackle she will work on those first (she did this with a family member who I honestly wanted tho quit smoking at the time — and what amazed me most about that, is she was not judgemental). I have also found that you because she is not judgemental, you can be honest with her.
Dr. Stone reminds me of the old school doctors from when I was a kid who would really get to know you and your whole family. She keeps a smaller practice — so you won’t find some of the things you may expect from a collective (like and on-​site lab and urgent care) but you get much more in trade. You can expect that she will actually talk and listen to you — she won’t just write you a script as she backs out the door.
Dr. Stone also respects your time. I have rarely had to wait more than a few minutes in the waiting room during an appointment. You also speak with her about your issues — you don’t dictate everything to the nurse and then have a 5 minute appointment with the doctor. Your relationship will be with her (although her staff is wonderful). Expect her to go past the insurance mandated limits with you. If she feels that you need to have a long discussion, Dr. Stone will do so. I have been with Doctor Stone for over a decade. I hope she will be my doctor for another decade — if I ever move, I will have to convince her to move her practice.
I highly recommend you give her a chance, if you are looking for a doctor. Dr. Stone is a rare gem.

It is hard to find good help, and it is hard to find a fabulous doctor. Dr. Stone is worth the wait. I realize her office staff has rotated however, she has an office manager that one should ask for and go up the ladder for results. Doctor has gone above and beyond the call of duty for my family and we are very thankful for her and happy to have worked through the front desk issues. She is at the top of her league, número uno.

Just as others have said. I could not get an appointment. I sent her an email. Was directed to call a number. Called it several times. I finally got through to a woman who said she’d send me paperwork and it’s been several weeks and I have not received the paperwork. Called again and was told to just wait. I was also told originally that it could be up to two months until I get in. I recently moved into Fresno and was trying to find a doctor closer to me. My current doctor is about a two hour drive from me and she does holistic medicine as well as traditional practice. I was looking for something similar. But I called my doctor and have an appointment for next week. Sorry but I would rather drive two hours than wait forever. Good luck getting new patients.

It is only because of the person that referred me to Dr. Stone that I will attempt to complete the unusual process of mailing new patient paperwork, because just as the last reviewer stated, the front office person who took my call was cold, UN-​polite and showed not even an iota of phone etiquette. Hopefully, my experience with Dr. Stone makes up for this, but I will most assuredly be sharing my experience with her when I see her. Her practice could benefit from a more warm and welcoming front office staff. If I had not had the referral from my trusted mid-​wife, the buck would have stopped with this first call.

I should start by clarifying that I never could schedule an appointment with Dr Stone. The long and winding path up to that point was so frustrating, I gave up. So this review is not on based on Dr Stone’s patient care, but her office protocol for scheduling new patients.
When I called to get information about becoming a new patient I was told by the receptionist that they would mail me new patient forms and I could fill them out and mail them back. I happened to be in town near her office that afternoon, so I thought I’d fill out my papers and just return them while I was there. Without a word, her receptionist handed me the envelope of paperwork they normally mail out. I wasn’t getting a warm feeling AT ALL from her front office staff. I filled out my paperwork and was told to expect a call from their scheduler.
Two weeks later I call the office because I haven’t heard from anyone. I tell them I dropped off my paperwork a couple weeks ago and just wanted to make sure everything was ok. I was told the new patient scheduler was on vacation and she’d be back next week. They didn’t ask for my name or a contact number or anything. At this point, I’m getting the sense this office doesn’t follow up very well.
THREE MONTHS LATER… I get a call from her office saying they have my form and they’d like to schedule my appointment. Seriously? I’ve already found another primary care provider, been in for two visits and had the tests done for the chief complaint I listed on your paperwork THREE MONTHS ago. Dr Stone may be a terrific provider, but if her office staff can’t manage to get a new patient scheduled, how are they at returning calls regarding lab work, or coordinating specialist referrals? I decided I’d rather have a primary care physician with a staff who could get back to me in a reasonable amount of time.

Dr. Stone operates her Holistic and Integrative Family Medicine practice on the SW corner of Cedar and Alluvial. She’s been my primary physician for nearly five years. Her practice combines conventional medicine with complementary and alternative medicine, which means she leans towards herbal and homeopathic solutions to your medical complaints. She’s also very interested in your diet, exercise habits, spiritual life, and social/​family relationships. She strives to treat the whole person, not just your sore knee or dodgy heart.
That said, she’s not completely adverse to more standard pills and prescriptions, but she will encourage you to at least give alternatives a try first. A couple of years back I had a nasty sinus infection, which she wanted to treat by cleaning out my sinuses with a warm saline solution bath a couple of times a day. When I told her that I wasn’t interested in the 3^rd world way (which I know because that’s how the Nepalese deal with their sniffles), she obligingly wrote me a prescription for Amoxyllin. I’ve learned that I have to stand my ground with her at times.
The nicest thing about her practice is that you see her when you make an appointment, not her PA. She doesn’t even employ a PA. Her medical assistant Michelle weighs you and takes your blood pressure and temperature, but after that Dr Stone takes over. Appointments with her rarely last less than 20 minutes and sometimes go for nearly 45 minutes. It’s all very personal.
I also think Dr Stone is a really nice lady. She’s quick to laugh, patient, calm, and she talks to you, not your medical charts. She asks pointed questions, gives me her opinions, but she’s never been abrasive or acted offended when I tell her that I think her solutions won’t work for me. She just gives me a list of alternatives to choose from and lets me make up my own mind.
Holistic and Integrative Family Medicine might not be the practice for you if you just want to get a script and be on your way; however, if you want a real relationship with your doctor, you could do a whole lot worse than this place.