Nephrologist · Founder · Chair, Division of Nephrology, Hoag Hospital

Eric A. Wechsler, MD, FNKF

MD, FNKF  ·  Board-Certified Nephrologist  ·  Fellow, National Kidney Foundation

Dr. Eric Wechsler is a board-certified nephrologist and internist who has practiced nephrology for more than 20 years and founded Southern California Kidney Associates in Newport Beach in 2008. He has been twice elected by the medical staff to serve as Chair of the Division of Nephrology at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, where he also serves as Chief of Dialysis Services, overseeing inpatient kidney care and the hospital's dialysis program.

Dr. Wechsler earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida and his medical degree at the University of Miami, where he received the Alpha Omega Alpha Doctor-Patient Relationship Award — a recognition given for excellence in the human dimension of medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and is a Fellow of the National Kidney Foundation. At Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, he has been voted Physician of the Quarter.

His clinical focus is the complex intersection of kidney disease with the heart, liver, and metabolic system — cardiorenal syndrome, hepatorenal syndrome, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and the medical management of kidney and multi-organ transplant patients. The conviction that earned him that award in medical school still defines his practice: kidney disease, and the heart disease and diabetes that so often travel with it, can frequently be slowed or prevented through early detection and a genuine partnership between physician and patient.

That conviction has shaped his work beyond the exam room. In 2012 he created Pocket Dietitian, one of the first mobile applications built to help patients navigate complex medical diets. He is Co-Founder and CEO of Nephrology Specialists IPA, a physician-led kidney care organization, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of RheoMed, its affiliated management services organization — both dedicated to value-based kidney care and keeping patients out of the hospital. He continues to volunteer at the Share Our Selves Clinic in Costa Mesa.