Samuel C Lo, MD

I have been coming here for more than 7yrs. The staff are helpful and pleasant. Everytime I call for an appointment they really try to work with my schedule. I’ve always got what I wanted or they come close to my requested date and time. The wait time is pretty long on Saturdays but expect that cause it’s Saturday and half day! Weekdays are smooth and quick. Dr. Lo is very knowledgeable. I feel comfortable talking to him and ask alot of questions with him giving me his suggestions and different options. They take most insurance and some speak different languages: chinese, korean, etc… They call you the day before for appointment reminders.

The receptionists are friendly and scheduled me quickly. They were able to squeeze me in for an appointment in a day after I called. My optometrist suggested I might have an optic eye nerve dying so of course I started to worry. Naturally I wanted a second opinion. I searched for a good ophthalmologist that was similar to my previous ophthalmologist, Dr Jorge Camara. For those who don’t know he was an excellent doctor that took care of my eyes for 20+ years till he sadly passed away. He was very personable and attentive to his patients. There was a wait but he was always thorough with the eye exams. I can say the experience is similar with Dr Lo but it is well worth the wait. Sometimes when you find a good doctor that is highly recommended it is expected to be a wait time. I’d recommend you bring something to read in the meantime. Before they called me back the wait time was about average, 15 – 20 minutes. I highly recommend him and will see him till he retires.

I love Dr. Lo and his staff! Dr Lo is very personable, gentle, and detail-​oriented — a rare combination of professionalism and personality. He has always taken great care of my vision, which is important for my intricate line of work. I like that he takes a minute to get re-​acquainted before getting started with the «eye» portion of the appointment. His team is very efficient and pleasant and I have always had pleasant interactions with them. Definitely a 5-​star office in my book!

I have seen Dr. Lo for over 5 years now. He used to be a very attentive doctor, but over the past few years, he has gotten busier and busier and no longer devotes much attention to his patients. The nurses overbook appointments every day. I have waited for almost TWO HOURS! I have seen other patients who come in an hour after me get called into the doctor’s office first, which is unfair to me.
The nurses are rude and they never apologize for the long wait. One time, I called before I went and explain to them that I only had one hour lunch break from work. The nurse on the phone PROMISED that it would take less than 30 minutes. I ended up waiting over an hour. Thankfully, my boss was gracious & I didn’t get in trouble.
After my name gets called each time, I end up spending more time with another younger doctor than I do with Dr. Lo. All Dr. Lo does is spend 30 seconds to look at my eyes, and then he says bye. He is nice but the truth is, he is so busy that he really does not need that many patients. Even if half of his patients left, he would still be busy enough and make lots of money.
So, the point is, if you want a doctor who cares about you and your eyes… and if you don’t want to waste two hours of your life sitting in a cramped waiting room, find someone else.

Scheduling:
I called in yesderday and got an appointment today. The front desk ladies were really nice, and they helped me with my insurance and billing etc.
Eye exam:
Dr. Chun was very very detailed with getting my prescription for my contact lenses and glasses. He made sure I had the correct prescription. The contact lens fitting is around $ 60, but you get to try on a pair or two and get a lens case etc. Dr. Chun also dialated my eye, checked the pressure, and checked my eye thoroughly. He didn’t seem rushed and was very nice! He kind of has this soothing voice too.
It seems like on busy days it takes about an hour to get everything done, but for me everything was so quick and so easy.
Etc.:
Overall, it was a great experience and I will come back again next year for my eye check up!
Bring sunglasses if you can, and try to have someone drive you there. If the doctor dialates your eye, your vision will be blurry for a bit.

Dr. Lo and the other doctors are very nice and friendly. They seem to care a lot about my eyes, giving me tips on how I can keep my eyes healthy and if I see certain things then I should visit the office immediately as they may be a sign of a disease.

Booked a last minute appointment here for a Saturday visit. Many ophthalmologists work a half day on Saturdays, and it can be challenging to find an available doctor. I chose this doctor based on proximity to where I lived (walking distance).
WHAT I LIKED
Great bedside manner – soft-​spoken and patient doctor. He tried to allay my concerns by asking me if I had any questions.
His staff was courteous and pleasant to interact with.
He squeezed me into his half-​day on Saturday to see me.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
He didn’t answer my questions with precision and didn’t provide a timeframe for recovery. Examples: ‘the redness will be there for awhile.’ Ummm, how long? 3 — 4 weeks? Narrow it down for me, sir! Another example: ‘you shouldn’t wear your contacts for awhile’. Same deal, how long? A week? I asked for clarification on how long but didn’t receive a time estimate. Soooo, no golfing for me for how long? Oh well…
If I wasn’t dealing with a time constraint, I would probably seek a doctor who will provide an exacting diagnosis and timetable for recovery.

Oh, goodness. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Dr. Lo himself is fine. He explains things well, he listens, and he’s very professional. The way his office is run in general is terrible. Whenever I schedule an appointment here I always have to make a 3 – 4 hour window. An eye appointment should NOT take that long.
For example, once, I checked in and told the person behind the counter that I would be outside since there was no room inside. I waited about 45 minutes outside. Then I came inside since there was finally room to sit. I waited about an hour and half total and I finally asked them how much longer it would be. The lady (I talked to a different person this time) looked around and COULDN’T FIND MY FILE. They hadn’t even pulled my file out. I WAITED FOR AN HOUR FOR NO REASON. Needless to say, I was very angry.
I’ve been to this doctor’s office a total of four (I think) times and all times I left three (–ish) hours later, incredibly frustrated and angry.
Also, I ordered a trial contact lens and they didn’t seem to care. No one wrote it down, no one asked for more information, they just said «oh okay». Obviously, I haven’t got a call yet.
So, never again.

This review goes out to Dr. Lo and his team.
Dr. Lo is incredible. You can tell he’s a qualified doctor by the millions of awards, certificates, and what not hanging on his walls. Legitttt.
He’s incredibly patient, kind, well-​mannered, gives great advice, you name it.
He does well with hiring his staff who are also all very qualified, enthusiastic, and very patient. Not to mention everyone looks really young and gorgeous, but don’t let those beautiful looks fool you! They know their stuff!
I think one that that really amazes me about this place was the multitude of ethnicities and age groups that come in here.
Dr. Lo is Chinese and I noticed that Chinese doctors seem to get mostly Chinese patients… but not Dr. Lo! To accomodate for the variety he hired the multilingual receptionists and doctors. You got Korean, Chinese (Canto and Mandarin I think), Japanese, and Hawaiian Pidgin too! JK about the Pidgin… although I’m sure they could bust it out if you REALLY needed it. Haha.
Every time I come here I get samples of contacts, eye drops, etc etc. They’re not stingy nor are they just throwing things out for free. They truly care about which products are right for YOU and always suggest giving things a try before buying them or ordering in your new contacts.
Only downside is the wait time and trying to schedule an appointment. They try to accomodate for you, but they’re schedule is almost 90% filled up everyday. But if you’re looking at this kind of quality doctors and service, its worth the wait. Expect to be there for more than an hour. Unless you want to go at 8:00 AM.
Unilocal 365 challenge ⁰⁰⁴⁄₂₆₅

I love Dr. Lo! Very professional, very efficient, and very good bedside manner. I love to see all of the cool gadgets he uses to examine my eye. There’s a new doctor, Dr. Kelly Koide (sp?), who’s also really nice and professional. The only negative would be that you have to park at Ala Moana, which, depending on the time of day, can have no parking.
It’s pointless to bring a book, since you can’t read after they put the eye drops in, so bring your iPod or a good audiobook.

I think the waiting time is too long… there has to be some respect for people’s time. They overbook.

I give this doctor five stars. His young female staff are nice, but be prepared for your eye checkup appointment to last 45 minutes or so, 35 of which are spent waiting. Dr. Lo is so patient and nice, and is very clear in what he’s doing. Also, a young female doctor works there as well. Her name is Marilyn. I think there’s also a newer one named Erica. They’re both really nice as well, not to mention attentive and pretty. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the negative review on Google regarding the doctor’s wife. I feel much more like an unfamiliar patient/​source-​of-​money than a loyal customer of nearly a decade. Other than that, I have to give Dr. Lo and the two female doctors five stars, hurrah!