Dr. James Wendell Ochi, MD

I saw Dr. Ochi for what I thought was going to be a routine procedure for skin cancer. The tumor turned out to be quite large and my visit turned into a 4.5 hour surgery! I was scared and anxious, but not only did Dr. Ochi make me feel comfortable, he was kind and caring. But most importantly, he closed the wound with precision. I would recommend him to anyone!

I was referred to Dr Ochi by a wonderful local ENT that saw my daughter. Dr Ochi went to school with our local ENT and is the only one to do acupuncture for children's surgeries. I have read the reviews and before reading these negative reviews, I was seeking Dr Ochi's contact number and stumbled upon a court case filed oct 2014. It seems that Dr Ochi is not all about money but his job is his livelihood, just like any of our jobs. If we don't get paid or someone underpays us for a job, we would not want to work for them either. Dr Ocha has claimed that blue shield, has under paid him and not paid him. I can see how this Dr would not want to take your insurance if they were not going to pay him. Also, I'd like to note that some doctors work for the insurance companies and not for the patients, that being said, if a doctor ignores your child's symptoms because they know that the insurance does not like to pay for surgeries unless a person is dying,(dehydrated)those are the bad… doctors. I deeply feel for this wonderful Dr who is just trying to help children and not argue with parents about insurance payment technicalities. This Dr also was very humble and professional, not to publicize and cause attention to this terrible insurance company that refuses to pay for his work done. Furthermore, and I'm just stating this as a person who see's facts, if this Dr can not get your insurance to pay for your medical bill back in 2006, even though he didn't find out until 2007, that your insurance was not going to pay him correctly, I don't blame him at all for asking the patient to pay the bill since the insurance is having problems paying. Now this poor Dr is having to make a legal case against this big company that is the one that really only cares about money! As far as I see it, this Dr has tons of unpaid work and seeing that he cannot get payment from his poor patients, he is trying to make this big company pay him what they should have. I know that many of you don't understand but there are doctors who will tell you that you are fine and ignore your symptoms and if you had a concern for your child to take them to a specialist in the first place, your gut feelings were probably right. Your poor child is probably suffering or going to suffer because of your choice to believe they are fine. No parent wants their child to get a surgery but for such a little inconvenience, your child could be healthy and pain free. I am trying to get in contact with Dr Ochi to have my daughter operated on after another wonderful ENT that went to school with Dr Ochi, referred me to him. If you will not have your child operated on because you don't want to PAY the cash, that's your choice and just remember that it is you who is more concerned about MONEY, than your child's well being. Also, the ENT that recommended Dr Ochi, does not accept certain insurance companies either. Obviously, if a person continues to call Dr Ochi, with the simple purpose of arguing over taking blue shield insurance or affiliates, they is no reason to call this person back, to argue. If you are a good parent, you would obviously see another ENT. It is very hard to please everyone and it's a tough situation to be in while trying to keep professionalism and not speak ill about insurance companies not paying doctors for treating their patients. I thank all those who commented, that did pay for services because I was able to better understand the situation and know that Dr Ochi, truly is a wonderful doctor.

We were referred to Dr Ochi by my son's pediatrician. He referred me to Dr. Ochi after asking me what type of insurance I had. Like the review mentioned by A J B, the office where I had my visit had no problem accepting my insurance. My initial doctor's visit was covered, yet I received a bill for the surgery Dr Ochi preformed on my son. The billing office let me know that Dr Ochi does not accept insurance?? In my opinion, this doctor is deceiving patients coming to see him. This is horrible! To top it off, they said I had to pay the full balance in three payments or I would be sent to collections. If you don't mind paying out of pocket, then go see this doctor. If not, DON'T!!!

Dr Ochi only cares about money. He looked in my child's ears for about 2 seconds and said he needed ear tubes. He did not take my insurance even after being told about 8 times that he did. I ended up paying out of pocket. They even charged an extra fee that was not discussed prior. The office girl seems nice in the beginning but have any questions and you are out of luck. Horrible Dr. horrible! I would not use this Dr. again. He was also late to the surgery and when you are dealing with an infant that hasn't eaten in 14 hours being late is a big deal. There was also no follow up after the surgery. He didn't even want to see him again, probably because he wouldn't make any more money. The tubes failed after only a month and the ear infections started again. I do not recommend this Dr at all!!

I have migraine associated vertigo. To find a doctor who is a medical ENT and acupuncturist was so fantastic.I felt very comfortable knowing he had both Western and Eastern training. My symptoms are going away and I feel terrific for the first time in a long time! Dr. Ochi listens and draws out information. I felt a part of my treatment. I look forward to every visit and continued improvement.

I cannot believe I am reading that so many other parents have had such a horrible experience with Dr Ochi!! The 5-star reviews in all CAPS that all sound the same do not seem genuine but the fact that so many other parents had the same issues as I did is scary. I took my 3 yr old son to see Dr Ochi about a stuffy nose, he looked at him for 5 minutes said a surgery would fix everything (remove adenoids and tonsils) and gave me his "friend" to visit who was a sleep therapist, much faster than trying to get an appt at Children's Hospital. This friend said he could operate right away and I just had a bad feeling about it so I scheduled a second opinion with one of the top Ear Nose Throat specialists at Children's Hospital and he said my son absolutely did not and should not have his adenoids removed!! When I mentioned Dr Ochi the nurse staff all looked at eachother and said they have never met a patient he didn't want to operate on. THESE ARE TODDLERS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!! I wrote a… letter of complaint to Dr. Ochi and asked him to call me many times, left him voicemails and he never called me back. How can this be tolerated in the San Diego medical community??!! Keep anyone you care about AWAY from this man!

Dr. Ochi is one of the doctors that money is his priority. He did no even check my daughter and recommended surgery. We have a PPO. He charge us over $200.00 office visit to tell us that my daughter needed surgery. I consulted 3 more ENTs and they did not recommend surgery. Children's Rady ENT in San Diego did a complete evaluation on my daughter and they did not recommend surgery. I spoke with my uncle in Peru. He is an ENT. He laughed at Dr. Ochi. He told me the type of a doctor that I was dealing with and to stay away from him. Excellent recommendation. He prescribed treatment for my daughter and doctors at Children;s Rady agreed. Up to the date, no surgery is required. Bad doctor, bad choice. Waste of money and time.

Lower back pain has been wearing me down; medical acupuncture gave me the best immediate relief. I've seemed to have tried everything, traditional medication, physical therapy, and other sources of acupuncture and these have left me frustrated. The treatment I received here was impressive; I could finally walk again without a limp, also I am most pleased with the time and attention I received. All in all, I would highly recommend this doctor.

My acupuncture experience with Dr Ochi has been fantastic. Prior to receiving treatment I was at level 7 on a scale of 1-10, and after Dr Ochi worked his magic my pain level was reduced to less than 1. This has been my very first experience of acupuncture, and I would certainly recommend Dr Ochi to anyone who is looking for pain relief in a non-invasive way.

Dr. Ochi did an excellent job caring for my back pain. He administered acupuncture to relieve my muscle tightness and shooting pain down my legs from a back injury. Dr. Ochi is a wonderful physician whom I would recommend highly. Thank you for your exceptional care!