After waiting 8 months for an appointment, the patient experience was not ideal. We had to wait for a long time in the office, and we were not informed about the procedures that would be given. We were expected to know ahead of time, somehow. When trying to ask the office about the charges, they were unfriendly and seemed offended we would even ask. Our visit to Dr. Chou's office was below average. We will not return. We will drive however long it takes to see an eye specialist that provides us with a warm and welcoming experience. read more

My son has been going to Dr Chou since he was 7; He is now almost 19 and at that time it will be his last visit with her. He's not happy but understands that he needs to move on with an adult eye doctor. We love her so much. Best care for 17 years! read more

Dr. Chou practice dilated the kids eyes first (resulted in more blurry eyesights during exam) and then checked the kids eyes for eyes glasses exam that resulted in over-corrected prescription for my young child (who might not had that much myopia in the first place)! I asked one of the staff why the kids eyes dilated first because then the kids won't be able to see clearly, but the staff said that oh it actually more accurate if the eyes dilated first. (Parents, if you don't believe me, go get your eyes dilated & try to read tiny weeny letters 3 meters in front of you, you won't be able to see anything). Parents, please do research first before putting glasses on your kids & go to optometrist or other ophthalmologist to get a second opinion! Also, if your child has myopia, the child should not use his/her glasses for close-up work (only for looking faraway). During the first visit, I asked how do you know that the prescription is correct / right because a 5 yo cannot really even tell his alphabet or shapes correctly anyway. And she said, oh yeah, the prescription is correct (without any explanation). She did explained a little, but not very clear and seemed to be in a hurry most of the time. And I asked her several other questions, but she gave me two handouts & told me to do research at home. read more

It can be a scary thing when your told your child can't read the chalkboard at school. My daughter's Pediatrician recommended Dr. Chou as a child Ophthalmologist. Her office was very kid friendly and inviting, staff friendly, soft spoken and gentle. Dr. Chou has a great bedside manner, Able to get my daughter interested and fascinated with her eye exam. I like that they explained everything at my daughters level that they were going to do during the exam as they were performing the exam. After the exam Dr. Chou explained her findings to me and ordered glasses for my daughter. Very professional office, when I asked where I could purchase toddler glasses they told me they do not recommend a specific provider but has a list of providers that other patients have recommended. read more

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3.5 stars : I am split on my review. We have been three times and we have had bad, good and great experiences. This time the tech doing the eye exam with my 4 year old son was amazing! So patient and creative to get my son to participate. Last time 4 months ago the tech was ridiculously bad. My son has bad eye sight so as expected he was getting all the letters/ shapes wrong on the eye exam. When he would say 'heart' she would say 'are your sure it's not a house?' He would change his answer to hers. So after that test the doctor was shocked at how 'much his vision has improved!' When the doctor did the test for herself she said 'nevermind, he tricked my tech!' No, she was just awful at giving an eye exam. So the techs are hit and miss. Dr Chou I didn't click with at first but she is growing on me. We have been going to eye doctors for years for my son and so I had thoughts/ experience with his eye care. We were not aligned with Dr Chou's suggestions. But after this last appointment and talking through it with her we have a better understanding between us. She understands where we are coming from when we push back on one thing and push for another. I think it is important to know what is doable for your family and kids. Then work with your doctor to find the best care. It is okay to have an opinion and not just take what your doctor says. And I think Tina Chou would agree with me to do your research and know your facts but also know your family and what is doable for you. read more

You may have to wait for an appointment, but I'm not going to rate this doctor lower for that. Dr. Chou has been seeing my son for almost 3 years (since he was 1) and working with us to make the right decision about surgery, including how his developmental delays could affect that decision. We've never felt pressured, she recommended a second opinion before we could ask, and she's great with both of my kids. She's straightforward and tells it like it is, but in a caring way. She's one of the few pediatric opthalmologists in the area which is why she's so busy, but worth it for sure. There's a great train table in the lobby and we've never encountered any issues with the staff. read more

What a great opthamalogist for kids! She and her staff were wonderful with my very wiggly three year old. They are great with kids, and had lots of tricks to get my little one to do what they needed to check out her eyes. Dr. Chou also was great with me. She explained exactly what they were doing to examine my daughter, and and then made sure I understood her diagnosis. We will definitely use her again, and recommend her to friends. read more

Dr Chou is simply wonderful. She has a great bedside manner, she's patient and is very thorough. Conservative in treatment, she does not rush to surgery. I worked with her for several years in a surgery center and when my 2 year old started having issues with her eye, there was no question who my daughter would be seeing. I knew that if my daughter needed surgery, I would be completely comfortable with Dr. Chou. Her staff is warm and courteous. Dr Chou's offices is easily accessible. read more

Our daughter's pediatrician referred us to Dr. Chou. We had to wait approximately 6 months for the first available appointment. Our insurance promptly paid the doctor directly using my FSA/HRA funds. However, Dr. Chou's office insists that they have not been paid. The insurance company can see that their check was deposited 2.5 months ago and has the doctor's endorsing signature on it. After the insurance company discussed this directly with the doctor's office, the insurance company told me that the matter was resolved and I would not receive any further requests for payment. However, Dr. Chou's office has since started sending delinquency notices and leaving us voicemails. Stay away unless you want this doctor to ruin your reputation! read more

If you are looking for a pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Chou is the one to see. She is experienced and explains everything thoroughly. Her staff is also friendly and very helpful. Dr. Chou is just wonderful with children of all ages. In short, the only eye doctor we would drive 30 miles to see. Highly recommend! read more

Maybe a good doctor, but the practice and billing departments have no respect to people and they ripped us off. Our daughter visited her some time ago for a wellness checkup and she was ok. Recently we started receiving multiple calls to schedule a *follow* up appointment from her staff. There was not medical need, just a follow up appointment. We did just that with the full understanding that my daughter is an established patient. When we received the bill it was coded as "new patient visit" this instead of about $150 the cost was $400! My daughter did not have an issue with her vision and the staff did not indicate in any way that this will be charged as new patient visit. We also could not phatom how's that possible when we were called for a follow up to begin with. When we tried to present our Vision insurance, they claimed that for pediatric visit they need to use medical insurance, which is a complete non sense since we have everyone covered on the vision insurance and have been using it for our son without an issue. The billing and the staff were absolutely condescending when we called back to clarify this and adamant that the charge is correct. Not stepping in that place again! read more

dr Chou should not be working with kids. I took my 7 year old to check for blurry vision. The Dr kept pressuring her when she could not see the letters, telling her that she needs to be honest and tell the truth. My daughter was on the verge of crying. She kept "guessing the answers up to 3 times trying to find the right answers. When I asked the doctor why she dismissed me completely saying my daughter's eyes are fine and maybe she is just "sad" I was not sure how to make sense of everything. Yes she got sad because she could not read the letters and the doctor kept interrogating her with a stern voice. I could not ever recommend taking your child to this doctor. I left with my daughter in tears saying she would never want to go to an eye doctor again. I am a child therapist and I truly believe Dr Chou needs some training in basic child psychology or just bedside manners especially when it comes to kids. read more

Great for my typically developing kids, not good with my special needs child. Dr. Chou has always had excellent "bedside" manner with my two older children and I was very pleased with her treatment of my son's amblyopia. I was very disappointed, therefore, when she was not good with my youngest child, who has autism. Dr. Chou did not do anything unprofessional, but she was very chilly towards my SN child in stark contrast to her warm interactions with my two typical kids. In short, I would highly recommend Dr. Chou to parents with typical kids but would avoid her if you have a SN child. read more

My beef is about the fact that I made an appointment and an hour and twenty minutes later we are still waiting to be seen by the doctor. If I made people wait to see me that long at my job I'd be out of work! Not acceptable. When the doctor finally showed up one hour and twenty three minutes later she didn't even apologize for being so late read more

Awesome doctor! She is so good with our little girl, she was born with ptosis (the muscle in her eyelid isn't as strong as the other) we started care with her when our little girl was 6 months old and her recommendation on a surgeon was amazing. Her staff is so helpful and kind, we just love her as a doctor. I would highly recommend her and will continue care for our daughter with her. read more

On a Friday we came all the way from out of town for what was supposed to be a 10 minute appointment. An hour and 15mins later and my sister is still in the waiting room and hasn't even been seen, which is absolutely ridiculous considering this appointment was booked plenty of time in advance and we will now have to endure all of the traffic going home. The staff should be more attentive to their patients for sure as this has immensely affected both of our schedules for the day. read more

I love this office, and Dr. Chou is so kind and patient. she has a gift for working with children. She did a minor clogged duct surgery on our 19 month old. Everything turned out perfect and her follow up was fantastic! read more

The best! Our 2 1/2 year old son asks about Dr. Tina constantly. During his first visit she took the time to put him at ease and it fun watching her interact with him. Dr. Tina also put us at ease and explained everything. The office staff are very helpful and friendly and the waiting room is very kid-centered with lots of games. read more

Dr. Chau is patient and kind. She takes the time to do a thorough exam and explain what she is doing. We love coming to see her!

Our experience was not good. Dr Chou's approach was way to aggressive for a 4 year old just hearing for the 1st time that she has a vision problem. The staff dilated my daughters eye with a spray that hurt really bad. The Dr. was nice, but we felt rushed and like we had a million questions that needed answering and the appointment was already over. Do this and come back in 3 months. We took her advice and went home and started doing what she told us to for several months. We called and met with her again and told her we were experiencing negative side effects. She said keep doing it. She did not seem to hear us. Sadly, the result of her aggressive approach we are still trying to correct 2.5 years later. We've since switched Doctors. We have been seen at Stanford and also have an amazing Pediatric Opthamologist, Dr William Good. Had our daughters treatment been started out gradually and not so aggressive, her body would have been able to respond positively instead of negatively. Everyone's situation is different. I hear she has done wonderful for others, but if your gut is telling you that the treatment she is recommending seems to much, then go get other opinions!! read more

Today was my second visit and both times have not been a good experience. I will say the receptionist and front desk staff is polite and the office is very clean other than that the experience is poor. Both visits I encountered the same eye techs who seem to have no experience with kids and don't seem to like children. The wait time is horrendous, don't schedule anything after this appointment you will be late. The other thing that bothers me is that there is no update from staff about the wait and no apology from the doctor when she finally arrives... again I experienced this at both visits. Today it seemed the doc had not reviewed the chart before entering and didn't know why we were there. Maybe she is a great scientist but people skills are not her strong suit. I will never return. read more

Long wait, never on time, always crowded. Every time we go in we are told my son needs a new prescription "lets try this" then "well that didn't work so let's go back" (bi-focal to the tune of $200 each). The condition my son has is something we were told he could grow out of with proper treatment but when I ask about his progress she seems irritated with my line of questions and has one foot out the door to her next appointment. Very nice to the kids but parents need to be able to get information without feeling guilty. read more

I did not think Dr. Chou was kid friendly at all. Her assistant talked very loud and lied and said the dialating spray would not sting when it really does and she knows it. My daugher was very upset about this. We felt very rushed and Dr. Chou was not at all what we expected. Overly business like and needs to slow down and not rush patients in and out and take the time to answer questions in a way that people understand. Also, she took no time when my daughter asked a question and just blew her off so that she could get the exam done faster. More of a money making assembly line than a kind and gentle eye doctor. read more

Three years ago, at the age of 61, I was experiencing worsening double vision problems. Dr Chou performed surgery, adjusting the muscles in one of my eyes, and the results were miraculous! I highly recommend her if you are an adult experiencing double vision due to weakening eye muscles. read more

Dr. Chou is a good opthamologist, and is great with the kids - thorough and professional. However, the practice is profoundly disrespectful of people's time - for 10 minutes with the doctor, expect to wait 1.5 hrs first. They call this your "appointment" time, but really it's just sitting in a waiting room. There is no good reason other than that their systems are not well designed to optimize slack time for the doctors (which they surely could fill by seeing the patients who did turn up on time!). I will choose to use another specialist in future. read more

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE OFFICE! I couldn't even get an appointment for my kid to come see either doctor at this office. They don't have any availablilty for several weeks out, and even then appointment times are so limited it makes it impossible to work around a kid's schedule. And the receptionist I spoke with seemed like she could care less about whether or not my child got the care he needs (she didn't even try to find an appointment which would work for me, I told her several times I could only do morning appoinments andshe kept offering me afternoon ones). I hope she's just new and not really that incompetent. A note to all doctors - your office staff really makes or breaks your business. Wouldn't go here even if they paid me and/or offered me a free service. read more

Best pediatric opthalmologist in the East Bay. We saw her for a second opinion after our first pediatric opthalmologist's diagnosis didn't seem quite right. She's to the point, efficient and so far her diagnostic skills have been spot on. Our little guy isn't squinting anymore. Our other doc said the squinting was because of allergies (in a kid who doesn't have any) and with a stronger prescription thanks to Dr. Chou, our guy isn't squinting. She also recommending patching which the other doc said we didn't need....and boy what a difference. Long story short, early intervention is soooo key with young ones with eye problems. We are so blessed to have Dr. Chou in our community. THANK YOU Dr. CHOU!!! read more

After receiving a daunting and unexpected diagnosis for my daughter, we had a very good first appointment and experience with this office. Dr Chou was very experienced and clear in her communication of my daughters condition. I forgot to buy the adhesive patches for my daughter's eye and had to run back in traffic to get them and the office stayed open for me on a Friday night. A few days later, my daughter began experiencing unusual eye symptoms and we were able to speak to Dr. Chou at night to ease some worry. The following day she came in early before her clinic hours to squeeze us in. After a lot of angst, I am so grateful that our family landed in the best hands. Thank you Dr. Chou and staff! read more

Rude doctor, and no, she had no bedside manners at all. This incident happened awhile ago but our family still talk about this appalling situation. I accompanied my family members, my sister and her daughter, to get an eye infection on my niece checked. When this doctor saw her she made a big show of avoiding of how much she didn't want to get infected ---she cringing and even wiping down the seat with saniwipes during the consultation, while the patient was still sitting on it!! Really? I understand the need for infection control ---as our family is in the health field too---but that outward display of revulsion was done tactlessly, without compassion and it was unprofessional. We understand that infection control procedures are important and necessary but those should be done with disgression and at the right time---once the consultation was finished. Dr. Chou should know better. The appointment was rushed and she even ended it by saying "Go home, don't touch anything, don't even go to the front desk." She even shouted out from the room to the front desk to wipe everything down in the reception...and all the patients heard it. Can I say HIPAA? I don't like writing bad reviews but this one is an exception. It was an awful experience. read more

Have been to see Dr Chou twice. My six year old needed glasses. and her prescription had changed about 1 diopter in a year. Tina said that this is normal for someone that age. When we went to book our next appointment, she said to book it for 2 years out. So if it changes every year for a child, we should only do an examination every 2 years? That makes no sense. These are her first glasses and we later found out from another doctor, that it is typical to be seen 3 or 6 months after the first pair of glasses and at least once a year for a full exam. Dr Chou also gives this little speech every time we see her..."I would be a billionaire if I had a cure for Myopia" She says it every time. So annoying. She doesn't mention that there are treatments for kids to slow the progression of Myopia, like Ortho-K. We don't know if we would actually do it, but it does exist and other doctors in the area specialize in that for kids. It is worth looking into. As far as she is concerned, this treatment does not exist. We have switched doctors and I do not recommend her. read more

My daughter had multiple incidents of conjunctivitis. I took her to see Dr. Chou upon my pediatrician's referral. After many visits to see this Dr. Chou for the same condition she would send us home with the same treatment: "wash the eye with baby shampoo and scrub, and use heating pads- get an sock and filled it with rice and warm it up and put it in the eye. When I told her we had done all and my daughter's eye was and mot improving , she raise her voice at me and told me that I was probably not scrubbing the eye well or long enough. My daughter was 7 yrs old at that time. I took her to another Ophthalmologist which diagnosed my daughter with chronic conjunctivitis, she was given antibiotic ointment and went through a eye exam. This exam revealed that my daughter's cornea was affected and now her vision is compromised, because the conjunctivitis was not treated properly it left a scar on her cornea. Don't take your child to this doctor! read more