Please don't call this Doctor Dr J. His name is Dr. Jacobson and that is how he should be addressed. My parents and my Grandmother are a long time patients of Dr. Jacobson. 20 + years or so. If someone can save your LIFE - in our family his name is Dr. Jacobson. I am writing it from the bottom of my heart with tears in my eyes. Dear Dr. Jacobson, thank you for being there for us. Thank you for being in your office at 9 pm at night and showing up in CPMC emergency room when I brought my mom in. Thank you for being so knowlegeable and direct with your patients, their families and other medical personel. If you wouldn't be so straight forward with everybody that night in the emergency room I am not sure if my Mom would make it through that night. Other doctors were in doubt, they were consulting each other, thinking to order more tests... you came in, diagnose and told everybody what they should do. Five days later my Mom went home. Thank you for saving her. (a Note: Even though my Mom is a heart patient her condition that night had nothing to do with her heart. Dr. Jacobson is so strong that was able to diagnose very rare and non-cardiological condition in the first 5 min of his presence in ER while others were scratching their heads). I don't think that Dr. Jacobson will ever read this post. He is not concerned about his public image. His proprity are his patients. Someone here mentioned HIPPA . Do you really think it matters who is listening when you are desperately waiting for your test results and he answers the phone just to tell you whats going on. ( BTW Dr. Jacobson is one of those Doctors that answers the phone when you are in need. Very uncommon thing these days.) read more

Dr Jacobson has been taking care of me every six months for the last 35 years since having a heart attack in 1987. His experience, knowledge and incredulous dedication to the field of medicine is unparalleled (as can be witnessed by the hours he is available). He far excels any doctor I have ever seen relative to his level of care. read more

I cannot possibly imagine a better primary care physician/cardiologist. Easily available, professionally, responsible, magnificently, trained, and a fine human being. Professor James W Guthrie read more

Dr. Jacobson is described by staff at CPMC as "beloved" "brilliant. Yes, he does see you twice a day in the hospital. But I wish I had not been so sick that I did not have the wherewithal to fire him. First, he misdiagnosed my heart condition. An angiogram done by the dr he designated disproved his theory that plaque came loose and damaged my heart- my arteries were smooth with no plaque; this dr recommended no plavix and no need to postpone my desperately needed belly surgery. Instead of acknowledging his mistake, Dr. J lied to cover it up and persisted in his mis-guided recommendations, unconscionably delaying my much needed surgery. I trusted him. I ended up hospitalized on an emergency basis a month later. Second, without consulting me, he established himself as the hospitalist, visiting me twice a day without fail. On the one hand he was exceptionally thorough, on top of all details, but he was a source of continual pain and aggravation including painful poking in my belly not done by my other docs. I finally said I would not allow him to touch me if he could not be more gentle. He is known for his aversion to sleep and pain meds. Without even informing me, he cut off my sleep meds. My surgeon and PCP disagreed; tho he was adamant re not prescribing these meds, he did agree to allow my PCP to prrecribe sleep and pain meds but meddled with the orders, interfering with my sleep for many nights.. Despite objective confirmation of pain ( severe inflammation in my belly) he determined I should not need pain meds and cut off all my break through pain meds. After I contacted my PCP, Dr J agreed to call in a pain doc; instead he called a psychiatrist who could offer antidepressants. Finally, when a pain doc was consulted, she put me on Methadone and Morphine. Earlier, when I went though horrible withdrawal after stopping the pain pump, he gave me nothing to deal with the nausea, vomiting, dizziness, legs jumping but instead wanted me to jump through hoops for any pain meds- call a doc and get an order each time. Luckily the surgeon intervened. For the final straw, he wrote a nasty note in my chart, horrified that I want to "negotiate" about my care. He sees no need to have me participate in decisions about my care because he knows best so not even necessary to inform me of his decisions. When it was time for discharge from the hospital, I felt home was appropriate, but he felt I needed a skilled nursing facility. I thought we had an agreement: I would have a CT scan and based on the results, we would decide: home or SNFF. But Dr J refused to give me the CT results saying the surgeon who was not available should tell me; unbeknownst to me, Dr. J called for transportation to take me to the SNFF within the hour despite my opposition to this plan. Without prompting from me, the SNFF staff thought the referral was completely inappropriate and arranged for my discharge to home the next day. HIPAA apparently does not apply to Dr. Jacobson. During every appointment he takes multiple calls about patients, using their full names and showing no concern about revealing all the details of their medical situation in my presence. Dr. J's life is his medical practice. They say he is the first to arrive and last to leave the hospital each day. Perhaps for some, his attention is positive. For me, it was a constant source of aggravation and pain. He was constantly pushing- eg if the surgeon wanted an enema a day, he wanted it twice a day, and on and on. BEWARE OF ENTRUSTING YOUR CARE TO THIS DOCTOR! read more

Dr. Lester Jacobsen, Cardiologist, is a thorougly professional, extraordinarily intelligent , and caring professional. His thinking and manner are wonderfully "old-school"; he is analytical, careful, and thoughtful-- combined with personal follow-up and kindness. So few of these doctors are still practicing. I am grateful for his long experience and expertise. read more

I'm writing this review on behalf of my uncle who has been a patient of Dr. Jacobson for 22 years. My uncle is 93 years old and has a long history of heart problems. He was under Dr. Jacobson's observation for over 22 years. During that time he went through two valve replacement surgeries; the last one took place a few month ago. Dr. Jacobson had always been thorough, knowledgeable and caring. He returned our calls promptly, as if he lives in his office. He was able to issue the right diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment for my high-risk uncle. We can not recommend him highly enough. read more

Dr. Jacobson is quite simply the best of the best! He is the go to cardiologist for physicians and their families. I echo the sentiments of Helen G. Enough said! read more

When my father, living in Florida, was not receiving adequate medical care, I asked a San Francisco nurse friend if there was a San Francisco cardiologist she could recommend. She asked her nurse friends and they said: "Dr. Jacobson. He drives the nurses crazy because he wants them to be super-diligent about his patients, but if they were ill they would want him as their cardiologist." I moved my parents to San Francisco because of his care. He cared for my father and my mother for many years with the kind of hands on personal attention it is virtually impossible to find in other doctors. I echo the positive descriptions other contributors to this site have provided about his diligence and degree of attention to his patients. read more

Dr. Jacobson is the one of the best physicians I have ever met in my life. He has been an outstanding and most dedicated physician for my father and mother. He has been taking care of my parent for the past 22 years. Since my parents do not speak English, I have to be the interpretor for my them. Dr. Jacobson has been successfully helping my parents to overcome many extremely challenging and life threatening situations with his thorough, cautious, conservative and safe medical treatments. He has been extremely dedicated to his patients. Very often, I found him still working hard at the Hospital even after 9:30 p.m. In an emergency medical situation, he would answer my phone call directly without an operator. Absolutely, I have no hesitation at all to recommand Dr. Lester Jacobson to anyone. He is indeed an exceptional medical doctor. read more

Dr. Jacobson has been my cardiologist for about 15 years. He is unquestionably the most thorough, responsible and competent physician I have ever had and I have had fine doctors on both coasts and in England and Italy. I see him every six months, more often if there is a problem. He always begins with a thorough oral history, not only of cardiac symptoms but of all aspects of my health -- including but not confined to diet, alcohol, exercise, sleep, bowels, hearing, eyesight, pap smears, mammograms, lab tests and colonoscopies. (Another physician told me he knew enough general medicine to be an internist.) He then examines me and administers an electrocardiogram, occasionally ordering other tests. Dr. Jacobson has a great many patients and sometimes he has to take a call from an ill patient while examining me. He seems to remember every patient, the medications they take and their medical problems, almost never having to look things up. He tells me when he will call with results and then does it. He has told me to telephone if ever I go the emergency room with a cardiac problem, no matter the hour. A nurse told me how lucky I was to have Dr. Jacobson because he often comes twice a day to the hospital to see ill patients. When I first saw him, he seemed rather stiff and formal and he asks rapid fire questions in order to cover so much ground in a short time. He is basically reserved, but over the years he has relaxed and chats and jokes. He came to my home for a memorial for my late husband, who was also his patient. I feel we have become friends. read more

This was the most disturbing experience I have ever had with a doctor, actually with anyone in a professional setting --ever. Thankfully, Gloria F.'s review offered me some possible explanations. (If only I had read it first.) Yes, this doctor takes a very long, thorough, oral medical history, however, he just might be making disparaging assessments of you in the process that will be used against you later. I, too, like Gloria F., feel that I should be involved in all decisions about my own body and health care. I ask questions, I research, I weigh options, I consider alternatives ---and this fact about me would have become quite evident as I was being questioned about my medical history. If Gloria F. is right, that could help explain in part what happened during my physical exam. Nonetheless, regardless of his motives, Dr. Jacobson acted in such an extraordinarily inappropriate and menacing way I am still reeling from the experience: He left the exam room to have me put on a thick paper gown. When he came back he proceeded to aggressively tear open the gown to expose my left breast --at least a dozen times he tore at me-- ostensibly to have access to my chest with his stethoscope and to do an EKG. He tore the gown so badly that when he asked me to stand up and raise my left arm over my head I had to hold the gown tightly together with my right hand just to keep it from falling off. There was a medical student present so I didn't feel I was in any imminent danger, I just felt that this doctor was acting on some bizarre passive-aggressive impulse he had no control over. This behavior was so outside the norm that he'd have no women in his practice whatsoever if this was part of his regular routine; he never would've done that to my mother, and certainly wouldn't have dared to do that if my husband had been present in the room. There is simply no excuse for what he did. I have had countless physical exams involving a stethoscope and EKG and, even in emergency situations (of which I've had several), no one has ever had any trouble working around the confines of a medical gown in a fully competent, tactful manner. When I read about Dr. Jacobson's painful poking of Gloria F.'s belly in her review, as well as her other negative encounters with his apparent control issues, I became more convinced than ever that this man could potentially be quite dangerous to someone given the opportunity. My advice: PLEASE DO NOT EVER GIVE THIS MAN THE OPPORTUNITY!!! read more

Wonderful caring, thorough, and respected doctor. Best cardiologist that I have ever seen. I greatly appreciate him. He fit me into his already busy practice. My primary care physician stated that he is the most highly sought after cardiologist in the area. Dr. Jacobson runs his own small practice with just himself while in the broader offices of a larger practice. He spent an incredibly long amount of time talking to me and discussing every single type of symptom that one could imagine - far more than my earlier cardiologists. Then, when I forgot to call back in a week to get my lab work, he called me personally to check in and give me the results. I was so surprised. He actually cared. Finally, he did his medical school at a top 10 university: the University of Chicago....which sure is better than a lot of foreign medical schools for other doctors' alma maters on my medical insurance scheme. read more