John Chiu, MD

I used to go here for my annual exams, but haven’t gone for a number of years. The reason I stopped going was because I felt the impression that the doctor was not very attentive to my needs, and much more interested in selling me drugs. My drug test came back with tri-​glycerides level on the borderline. It was still normal but at the end of being normal. Anyway, first thing he suggested was to put me on medication. From what I know, if you’re on medication, you’re on it for life. I was still in mid 30s; so, wasn’t interested in starting a lifelong drug dependency.
Anyway, it happened again the following year. From these two experiences, I thought he may be getting some kickback from drug company or something, since he was eager to promote the drug without even hinting this might be long-​term thing.
On everything else other than drugs, he was very nonchalant and not very caring.

Today was the 4^th or 5^th times my daughter came to see Dr. Chiu. Dr. Chiu was referred to us by her cousin when my daughter turned 18 and needed a family doctor. After reading all the other low reviews, I felt in fairness I need to post our experiences with Dr. Chiu and his staffs. Yes, I agreed with some of the other reviews that staffs were not too friendly, but i don’t think they were rude. On the good note. today when we were there those unfriendly staffs were no longer there (perhaps Dr. Chiu read reviews and addressed the problem. So he does care) the new receptionist there today was nice and friendly, and we left there with smiles and relieved on our faces. But that wasn’t the main reason why we left with smiles our faces.
My daughter had to get blood draw for annual exam and for a school requirement. She was nervous for a whole week because she had really awful experiences in the past with getting her blood draw. She has no visible veins at all! The last attempt of blood draw was in Oconnor hospital, which left her with 2 huge bruises and no blood, and not to mention she passed out, luckily I was there and caught her on time before she hit the floor.
We explained to Dr. Chiu her pass horrible experience and her history of passing out. Dr. Chiu not only drew her blood laying down, but he drew her blood himself and was super gentle! Yes, he had to tried on 2 different spots, but we were expecting that would happen. My daughter told me she didn’t feel a bit of pain on his first attempt, and only felt a poked while he was drawing her blood. He was very calm and gentle the whole time. (I’ve been with her every and each time she got her blood drew, sadly but most people usually get really frustrated after a few tries and can become really rough) so as a mother, I really appreciated Dr. Chiu gentle and calmness the whole time. Yes, I realized usually it’s his medical assistance that draw the blood, but if you’re one of those people like my daughter that doesn’t have any visible veins, let them know and ask if Dr. Chiu can draw your blood himself .
As for Dr. Chiu demeanor, yes he’s not a talkative person like myself, but my daughter reminded me that like herself, he likes to address the problem and treats you and that’s what we all come to him for, not to have an cheerful conversation with him. She’s absolutely correct because he had alway treated all her medical problems. She too is studying in the medical field and her personality is very similar like his. So if you’re looking for a great doctor that will treat your problem, then Dr. Chiu is the doctor to go to, but if you’re looking for a doctor who cares about having a great conversation with you instead of treating you then he’s not the doctor for you.
As for the imprinted credit card on file, I’m business owner myself and had my handful of problems of customers disputing their card charges after they authorized the charges over the phone. Not to say everyone is like that, but he does run a business, and as a smart business person, he’s doing the right thing to protect himself from anyone trying dispute charges after they authorized them. So the imprinted credit card on file is to be use whenever there is an outstanding balance and you authorized them to make the charge to your credit card. They will not charge your credit card without your authorization. We had no problem with his office doing so and had no problem with it. Matter fact, there are many other doctor offices, including my own business as for imprint of credit cards for any future charges. That just save you a trip to their office to sign the actual sale draft, that’s all. Yes, maybe the front person should explain why it’s being done so all his patients understand, but again if you don’t understand why then ask.
Wow, that was a long review, I usually don’t write review unless I felt it’s needed because We had a different experiences then those reviews I read. I hope our experiences with Dr. Chiu help answer any concerns you have about Dr. Chiu.

Rude front desk personal and they didn’t really explain why they need my credit card on file. And the CAUCASIAN women gave me a funny look as i walked it to the office like she may have been a little shocked that i was a african american (as she tried to signal to her coworked) why i have no idea. Just real bad customer service. But the doctors service (my son said he was really nice and got him what he needed) was fine so once you get through the front office to see the doctor you will be ok.

Dr. Chiu is by far my favorite doctor. As many have said he doesn’t mince words. He has been extremely helpful in getting my A1C under control, when I first started seeing him it was well above normal and today I am down to 7.4 (endocrinologist confirmed) well on my way to under 7. I have been going to him since about ²⁰⁰⁹⁄₂₀₁₀. His staff is always friendly, calls me to remind me of appointments, and has been nothing but professional and kind. Out of all the doctors I see, he is definitely the one I trust to give me the facts straight. I have never known Dr. Chiu to be rude, some of the comments on here baffle me as I’ve never experienced that since coming here. In fact, if anything he keeps me calm, gives me guidance, and always checks to make sure all my data points are within range and what I need to adjust when things are not normal.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Chiu for many years and have seen many doctors in the past. Dr. Chiu is a very good doctor. He is thorough, considerate, and a very knowledgeable general physician. He’s the only doctor I know who takes the time to take 4 blood pressure readings and explains why. If you’re looking for a good doctor, then you should consider Dr. Chiu. If you’re looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear, then he’s not for you. Dr. Chiu tells it like it is, honest, black and white, no sugar-​coating, and no make-​me-​feel-​good nonsense. I’ve gotten to know Dr. Chiu pretty well throughout the years and he always takes time to sit and chat. I often times find myself laughing with him about things we have in common. His office staff is also friendly and efficient.

What’s going on!!!
I called for a routine check up. I talked this woman called herself Natalie. I told her our new benefit has started from 2÷1÷14, but, I haven’t received my new card yet. She was talking without giving me a chance to responds in between. So, I waited, waited, waited till she’s done. I asked her, are you done? I think that made her very upset. And, I asked, can I talk now? After she allowed me, I told her, it is OK if I pay first and have Blue Shield to reimburse me. And, I asked her, if I pay first, roughly how much I need to pay first? She said, it depends my deductible??? What’s that to do with my benefit??? I am going to pay first!!!
Anyway, I thought we settled for today at 10:30am. When I went in, I spoke with another woman called herself Barbie. It is not what you picture. as Barbie doll Barbie. really, take my word for it. Hey, I do agree, somehow, people works there, they are NOT happy. You look much better if you smile and pretend happy, you’d look actually presentable. And, when you are already not good looking and didn’t know how to smile… that would be a nightmare to you, to the people around you What’s up with that. Barbie said that I don’t have an appointment???

I went in for my new patient blood draw and asked him about some recent blood test results from my obgyn. He didn’t agree with her recommendation so I’m waiting for my obgyn to respond but he was quite calm, patient, pleasant and informative through the whole thing. I don’t know why people keep complaining about how rude he is. He laughs at jokes and asks questions like a normal friendly person. The facial hair does make him look a little evil though.
I also think it’s pretty neat that he takes the time to respond to people’s complaints on Unilocal so extra star for that.

Unfortunately I’ve always happened to go to second rate doctors after randomly choosing a random one from my «in network» list.
Fortunately, I learned of Dr. Chui from my wife and her cousin and I’m thankful to finally have a great doctor. There are many reasons why but the first thing I noticed was how thorough he is and not just churning patients.
Health insurance is expensive but at least I feel I’m getting valuable care when needed.
The office staff is nice too!

My husband and I have been going to Dr. Chiu for over ten years, and find him to be a fabulous doctor. He is very knowledgeable and helpful. We have also brought our boys to him for the last 5 years or so. His office staff is always friendly and helpful. We have never had below a five star treatment from anyone at his office. We feel very fortunate to have such a great doctor.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Chiu’s for over ten years now. He is an extremely competent doctor. He asks the right questions to quickly get to the root of the problem. I feel very confident that he is knowledgeable and focused on providing high quality care. His staff is pleasant and efficient. I’ve never had a problem with billing or other paperwork. Dr. Chiu is the primary reason I’ve not switched to an HMO.

My husband and I had the worst experience ever doing physical checkups in Dr Chiu’s office. I was getting a blood draw. The nurse tried twice and couldn’t find my vein. She called Dr Chiu. Dr Chiu seemed unhappy and told the nurse to watch. He made two shots again. He said he found the vein and started drawing the blood. It hurt so badly and I had to call for a stop after the first tube of blood was drawn. The entire process took about 40 minutes. The nurse was young and pretty, with no smile on her face for the entire 40 minutes, she said 2 or 3 times that it was hard to find my veins because they were too tiny! I had plenty of experiences doing blood draws and it was never like this!!!
I got a big bruise on my arm that night and it got worse the next day. It hurt so much that I could not sleep for two nights. I felt my heart was beating faster than normal and it was just very uncomfortable. I called in the office after 2 days and went to see Dr Chiu again. He did a couple of check ups and said I was fine, and I should just take some pain medications. He was polite, but it was clear to me that he didn’t care. Neither the nurse or the doctor said a single word of ‘sorry’ to me.
And the story wasn’t over. I got a bill for about $ 200 for the check up I received because of the pain caused by the blood draw. I was too tired to argue with them. I just paid off the bill and an additional $ 20 to get my medical records transferred out. I never want to deal with them again!
This was an incredibly horrible experience! If I could give negative star ratings I would!!! My husband did the blood draw the same day as me and got a big bruise as well. He said it hurt badly but he was tougher than I and didn’t groan all night like I did. He agreed with me that the doctor didn’t care about us. I would not comment about his professional skills, but his attitude was certainly cold and uncaring.
There is certainly a good side in this experience: Life seems much more beautiful after I recovered! I’m truly thankful that I never need to deal with them again!
My husband and I switched to Palo Alto Medical Foundation afterwards and it made a world of difference!!!

Clearly this doctor can’t accept outside input from others, and yet he has the nerve to call me arrogant.
Also, it seems pretty telling that you would say I’m a coward for name calling (which I didn’t do to you) then call me a coward. I think actions speak louder than words, but I’m pretty sure you don’t understand that concept since you are rude and horrible to everyone of your patients and you still think you’re a nice guy. Show some class.

Professional, friendly, knowledgeable and straightforward, Dr. Chiu is the perfect primary care physician for me. I have a permanent disability, one that needs fairly comprehensive general care, and Dr. Chiu immediately provided me with referrals to specialists who accept my current insurance and who can address my specific needs. I’m a brand new patient yet I was able to meet with him for a general physical almost immediately. As others have said, he was thorough, honest and informative as he assessed my general health and took time to get to know me and to answer all the questions I had. Billing and insurance was a breeze and his current staff are all friendly, knowledgeable and helpful as well.

my husband and i are huge fans of dr. chiu and miss him dearly while we’re temporarily located overseas. he calls it like he sees it and while they’ve run late in the past because dr. chiu or his assistants overran an appointment with another patient, i appreciate how he takes the time for patients — scheduled or emergency. i think he’s well worth the wait.
we’ve never had billing or insurance problems. his team is highly communicative so there’s never a surprise.
dr. chiu’s sense of humor, or lack thereof, is a little different so it took a few visits to warm up and crack a smile from him. he’s super professional, extremely knowledgeable and very patient to understand the issue.

Plays the part of a typical HMO doctor.
Put simply, if «reducing unnecessary tests» and haggling over 100 dollar lab work is your style, you’ll feel at home.
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Dr. Chiu’s comment below is entirely correct, except for the fact that I was referred by another doctor to have the test performed.
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Dr. Chiu’s response speaks volumes about his commitment to his patients and their privacy. I highly recommend you read his response as you consider what you’re looking for in a physician.
Revealing personal info in a Unilocal review… *tisk*… down to one star we go.

My family has been his patient for 3 years. Last visit for flu shot for whole family and Tdap shot for kids was not good. The scheduling was something wrong. I took more than one hour, waiting waiting and waiting like a huge hospital. In addition, They forgot to make shot records of Tdap. That make me another almost one hour driving. Check your shot record before leaving.

Whoa! I was just doing a search for Dr. Chiu to get his address when up pops his Unilocal page. Unilocal has everything …
Anyways, I’ve been a patient of his for quite a while now. I was just out of college and working full time when I got a bad cold — bronchitis? It was a loooong time ago. I didn’t have a GP at the time and I just did a search in from the company benefits directory. I was lucky enough to have gotten an appointment with his office because he’s been my doctor ever since. He’s seen me through routine checkups to times when I’ve been pretty sick. I always feel safe in his care and I have recommended him to other friends and family.
Times visited: quite a lot over the years

Dr. Chiu is my ‘regular’ doctor and I have had only the best experience with the staff and the doctor himself.
He’s patient, concerned about your health, and gives some good advice. No complaints!

I’ve been going to Dr. Chiu for about 5 years now. There are a couple of things I really like about him, most importantly he actually listens to me. I’ve been to many doctors that barely listen to you, then just hand you a perscription and walk out after spending 45 seconds with you. From that standpoint, he is the best Dr. I’ve ever been to.
Dr. Chiu takes plenty of time to understand what your issues are, and asks good questions, he is very thorough.
Another thing I really like is that he is always on time, when they say your appointment is at 11am, you are in the examinaing room at 11am. It REALLY irks me when Dr.‘s make me wait 30 – 45 minutes to finally see me. I’ve been sitting inside exam aning rooms for 30 mins wondering if they forgot about me. My time is important too. I’ve never had to wait long at his office. Like others have said, his staff is friendly and professional and the office is nice FWIW.
I understand what people are saying about his bedside manner, he’s pretty matter-​of-​fact and to the point and, but so what? I’m not there to have tea with him, I’m there to get my problems solved, and he is good at that.

Considering Dr. Chiu is a doctor and not a customer service representative, I think he is a good doctor. he doesn’t mince words, that’s for sure, but he is honest with his assessment and helpful in what I need to do /​think about in taking next steps. I don’t go to a doctor to get my ego massaged or pampered like I would expect when going to a hotel or restaurant. I go to a doctor because I need an honest and thorough assessment to my health. And that is what I got from Dr. Chiu.
A bonus is that Dr. Chiu has a high interest in sports medicine, and is the team doctor for the San Jose Sharks. I had a soccer-​related injury, and he was able to correctly diagnose the problem, which I was very happy about.
The facilities are small, but clean and have plenty of magazines for the waiting room. It’s somewhat children freindly with toys and books for them as well.
Also, their front office staff are friendly and helpful. So, if you’re looking for a family physician I would recommend visiting Dr. Chiu.