If you've spent any time navigating the medical landscape of San Francisco, specifically within the Duboce Triangle or Castro neighborhoods, you’ve likely bumped into the name Virginia Cafaro, MD. In a city where healthcare feels increasingly like a massive, impersonal machine, Dr. Cafaro is a bit of an outlier. She’s been at this for over 35 years.
Honestly, finding a primary care physician who actually sticks around in the same zip code for decades is becoming rare. Especially in the Bay Area. But while her name pops up on almost every major insurance directory from Aetna to Blue Shield, there’s a specific niche she occupies that a lot of general searches gloss over.
She isn't just another internist. For many in the San Francisco community, she has been a lifeline for managing complex, long-term infectious diseases.
The Reality of Her Practice Today
Here is the thing you need to know right off the bat: you can't always just walk in. As of early 2026, Dr. Cafaro’s status with major networks like Sutter Health often indicates she is not accepting new general primary care patients.
Wait. There’s a catch.
She frequently keeps her doors open for HIV patients only.
This is a crucial distinction. In the world of "Virginia Cafaro MD San Francisco" searches, people often get frustrated because they see her listed as a family practitioner and try to book a standard physical, only to hit a wall. Her practice, located at 45 Castro St, Ste 423, is deeply embedded in the history of the Castro’s medical response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She is a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, but her identity as an HIV Disease Specialist is what defines her clinical footprint in the city.
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A Career Built in the Trenches
Dr. Cafaro didn't just show up in San Francisco with a degree and a dream. She graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine back in 1986. Think about that for a second.
1986.
That was the height of the HIV crisis. She completed her internship and residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine - Jacobi Medical Center in New York, another "ground zero" for infectious disease at the time. By the time she landed her fellowship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), she was already deep into the complexities of immunology and internal medicine.
Basically, she’s seen the entire trajectory of modern HIV treatment—from the early, desperate days of toxic mono-therapies to the highly effective, once-a-day regimens we have now. That kind of institutional memory is something you just can't find in a younger doctor.
Where She Actually Works
If you are looking for her, you aren't going to a massive, glass-walled hospital tower. Her primary base is the WellSpring Medical Group (sometimes referred to as part of the Altais Medical Group).
It’s located right near the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) Davies Campus. She’s affiliated with:
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- CPMC Van Ness Campus
- CPMC Davies Campus
A lot of patients mention that the office has a very "Old San Francisco" feel. It’s professional, but it’s not a corporate factory. You’ve got a mix of practitioners there, including Dr. Mark Higgins, who has been a long-time colleague in that same Duboce Triangle corridor.
What the Patients Actually Say
Let’s talk about the vibe. Medical review sites are usually a toxic wasteland of people complaining about parking or a 15-minute wait. But Dr. Cafaro’s ratings—which hover around a 4.2 to 5.0 depending on which platform you check—tend to highlight her communication.
One patient mentioned she "actually listens." It sounds like a low bar, doesn't it? But in San Francisco's fast-paced medical environment, a doctor who isn't staring at a laptop the whole time is a unicorn.
She is known for being:
- Direct. She doesn't sugarcoat the science.
- Culturally Competent. Having spent her career in the Castro, she understands the specific health needs and social nuances of the LGBTQ+ community.
- Bilingual. While it's noted that her office staff is primarily where the Spanish fluency lies, she has historically been accessible to a diverse patient base.
The Technical Specs (For the Detail-Oriented)
If you’re verifying her credentials for insurance purposes, here are the hard facts. Her NPI (National Provider Identifier) is 1174596969. She is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Her expertise covers a surprisingly wide range for someone so specialized:
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- Chronic high blood pressure management.
- Infectious disease (specifically HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C).
- Adult congenital heart disease (though this is more of a secondary focus).
- General primary care for the geriatric population within her existing patient panel.
One thing that surprises people? She’s also listed in some databases for treating things like Muscle Spasms and conducting EKG tests. It’s easy to forget that an infectious disease specialist is, first and foremost, a highly trained detective of the human body.
The "Not Accepting New Patients" Hurdle
This is the part that sucks. If you are a healthy 28-year-old just looking for a new GP in San Francisco, you might have a hard time getting in with Dr. Cafaro.
Most of the major portals, including Sutter’s "My Health Online," list her as closed to new patients unless they fall under the HIV/Infectious Disease umbrella. This is common for veteran doctors in the city who have "capped" their panels to ensure they can actually provide quality care to the patients they’ve had for twenty years.
If you are looking for HIV-specific care, your best bet is to call the office directly at (415) 551-9758 rather than trying to use an online booking tool like Zocdoc, which often has outdated "availability" slots.
Actionable Steps for Potential Patients
If you are determined to see Dr. Virginia Cafaro or need similar care in San Francisco, here is how you should handle it:
- Check Your Insurance Twice: She is "in-network" for almost everything (Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare), but since she’s part of a medical group (WellSpring/Altais), you need to ensure your specific plan doesn't require you to be at a different "hub" like UCSF or One Medical.
- The "HIV Specialty" Bypass: If you are seeking care for HIV or an infectious disease, explicitly state this when you call. Do not just ask for an "initial consultation." Specialist slots are often handled differently than general primary care slots.
- Telehealth Availability: She does offer telehealth, which is great for the "stable" parts of chronic disease management. Ask about this for follow-up appointments to save yourself the nightmare of Castro Street parking.
- Look at CPMC Davies as a Backup: If you can’t get into her specific practice, look for other providers at the CPMC Davies Campus. That specific hospital ecosystem tends to share a similar philosophy of care and community focus.
Dr. Cafaro represents a disappearing era of medicine in San Francisco—the neighborhood doctor who knows the history of the streets as well as the history of her patients' charts. Whether you can get onto her calendar or not, her presence remains a cornerstone of the Duboce medical community.