Dr. Harf has been my orthopedist for over 25 years. When I first met him I couldn't walk, I was in intractable pain for a herniated disk which had been going on for about 8 years. Especially back then everybody said "oh no, don't get back surgery, you get the surgery, you're done.My uncle . . . my friend . . . scary" Finally it was pressing on the sciatic nerve so badly I couldn't walk. I thought my life was over. Since I was "done" anyway, I had the surgery. That was in 1989 I think. After recuperating and getting my muscles in shape I've been completely pain free. I was able to coach my kids baseball and soccer teams, be a soccer referee, running up and down the soccer field with a bunch of 16 year old "cheaters" was unthinkable before I met Dr. Harf. The guy knows his craft. Don't worry about the people here that don't get him. After getting to know him as his patient all these years, and having broken my body several times and having him fix me up every time, I love the guy. He's is a very decent human being and a fine Doctor, he's from New York and I know some Californians don't get New Yorkers, so that . . .. As another poster observed, you want "warm and fuzzy" get a dog, you need a good orthopedic Doctor? Don't be a pain in the a**, let Dr. Harf help you. read more

Avoid this doctor at all costs. He is extremely rude, and rushes through things and there is absolutely no quality of care standard with him or his office. He walked out of my mom's surgery follow up appointment to take a phone call after pulling off her bandage in a non sterile environment, causing extreme pain and getting blood all over her clothes. Then he tried to put a brace over her exposed unhealed staples that would have rubbed them until I asked for him to do something else out of concern. He came into the room completely unprepared as if he hand even read her chart, asking us when the surgery was done after he pulled off her brace violently with out explaining anything he was doing. When my Mom said she was in pain he essentially said "well Of course your arm is broken" As I mentioned as we were asking questions about care and follow up he answered his phone and walked out and left us sitting there until one of the office aides came in and said we could go. We received no care instructions or any information other than 'come back in 2 weeks' from her. And being informed we owed them $20 for the brace. (Mind you they couldn't even run a credit card in their outdated office and demanded cash). He was also incredibly rude the day of the surgery and didn't walk us through everything and while his nurses were trying to explain he rushed them saying "can we get going and get on with this". This man needs to retire. Unfortunately this complaint will do nothing as people have been complaining about this man for years and he does not seem to have improved. read more

Unprofessional, Dismissive, Poor Manners He did surgery on my father's knee. When he went through PT, he complained of pain and his leg was still excessively swollen. Dr Harf's reply was, "I don't have anything to do with that, you have to talk to your doctor". Now, here we are 7 months later and my dad has to go in for another surgery because Dr Harf neglected to repair all of the knee correctly. He is dismissive, judgmental, rude, and not thorough. He should be seriously assessed for his medical license. Save yourself trouble and get a referral to someone else. read more

June 1, 2022, I was walking a dog who suddenly took off very fast and pulled me down. I ended up with a broken radius bone in my left arm. I am 75 years old and this was my first broken bone. Dr Harf and his team cared for me so compassionately and professionally. 6 months later, after surgery and recovery time, I have really great range of motion and normal use of my arm. I am so grateful that my primary care clinic referred me to Dr Harf. I highly recommend him to anyone in need of an orthopedic surgeon. read more

I fractured my ankle and Dr. Harf was the er physician. I saw him for two additional visits. Today, I witnessed him take time with a high school aged young man who was being treated for a broken finger, the result of a fight. Dr. Harf took the time not not only treat the young man's finger, but also his heart - speaking of decisions, anger management, and the opportunity to make good choices that all make a difference in his life to come. I certainly hope the young man listened, he probably never heard it before... but I heard compassion, care, and concern for a life at a very dangerous and important turning point. Could go either way. Bravo to Dr. Harf for taking the time, it moved me to tears. The phone staff does make it difficult to get phone calls delivered, answered and appointments made. However, once in the care of Dr. Harf you will realize it was worth the wait. Ten gold stars. Nancy Ballard read more

Let me preface this by saying I don't throw around the term, "garbage human" lightly. This man is one. Period. He started by at our first meeting walking in, looking me up and down, grunting and saying, "Come on. You need to ask your doctor to get you weight loss surgery". Yep, I'm chubby but only about 40 pounds overweight. He made me cry while I was being wheeled into surgery. He literally yelled 2 inches from my face when after using the pain meds he gave me to the letter of the instructions I needed a couple days more because I was (still am 1.5 weeks post surgery) in excruciating pain. He refused and gave me a pain med that we prescribe to dogs in my vet practice. If you like being belittled, condescended, ridiculed, left in excruciating post operative pain, given zero idea what your surgery or post operative healing will include, not be able to get through on the phone EVER, be sent away continuously from the pharmacy because this garbage human doesn't know how to fill a prescription out properly, and basically left to figure out after care/physical therapy on your own then this is the doctor for you! read more

Office staff play a weird game of waiting a long time to schedule much needed MRIs and tell the patients it's an insurance issue and that a "peer-to-peer" is needed. When I called the insurance company to ask why they were holding up approval for the MRI, I learned that a request hadn't even been submitted yet and "peer-to-peers" only happen when a request is denied. How can it be denied if it was never submitted?! The insurance agent called the office on my behalf, with me also on the line. The person that answered the phone was very rude and raised her voice at me AND THEN HUNG UP (as I was crying, explaining my pain and situation.) The insurance agent was aghast at the receptionist's behavior and asked if I would like to file a grievance. I declined and she helped me find a new orthopedic and spine specialist. I don't even mind I have to drive 45 mins each way, this new practice treats me with respect and actual care. Dr. Harf saw me for the total of 4-5 minutes and while I got the sense that he cared--or is good at projecting an attitude of caring-- he was very rushed and obviously overbooked. If he really cared about his patients he'd address the issue he has with the one of his staff members. One of the women in the front office was super sweet, kind in-person, and did her job well. The other seemed disorganized and was a bit short tempered in-person, I suspect this is the same person that hung up on me. Update: they called to schedule an MRI weeks later, after I had already established care elsewhere and I said I had moved on and I didn't appreciated being hung up on and dismissed. The person on the other end on the phone stammered and said something about their phone system being bad and dropping calls. I replied it didn't sound like a dropped call. (Dropped calls don't sound like the receiver being slammed down.) read more

Trigger happy to do surgery. Doesn't know anything about psoriatic arthritis which is what was causing my pain. A trip to the rheumatologist and a scrip for otezla and no more pain. Also TOOK HIS MASK OFF IN THE EXAM ROOM!! read more

The services I received from Dr. Harf were professional and more than positive. He is an excellent surgeon. I trust him implicitly. So much so that when my husband needed help, I pushed him to see Dr. Harf. Again an extremely positive outcome. Dr. Harf is knowledgeable and gives quality medical care. His office staff is always caring and helpful. read more

I had the opposite experience as previous reviewer, I couldn't even get ahold of anyone at the office, when my calls were returned a week later they would schedule me appointments weeks out. Not an office to be dealt with if you like talking to a human being and being taken care of in a timely manner. I switch to a more available Doctor and won't be looking back. read more

I wouldn't give him anything. I've even overheard bad things about him at a workers comp hearing. Uncooperative, unkempt, rude and the staff, ridiculous. I asked referring doctor to never send me there again. I have never been treated so rudely. Office staff when and if they answered lie. Leave a message well go ahead if he gets them he doesn't answer them. If you like going to a doctor whose lab coat tells you lunch and breakfast details go here!!!!! Oh and if you like pain?go here. If you like being belittled, go here. There's not one thing that was good or ok. It was all bad. Jerk, jerk, jerk. Go to this guy if you'd like to be abused. Hey, old patients are afraid to complain and this is what his practice consists of. I happen to be old but noisy. Especially when abused!! I had to give one star to rate. He doesn't deserve it read more

So Dr. Harf is not the warm and fuzzy guy you want. He was the doctor we needed. Want versus need. BUT........Dr. Harf was a miracle worker for my 85 year old father. My dad had unrelenting back pain that no one has been able to cure out for 3 years. He was on a fentanyl patch, 4-8 oxycodin a day and still had 8-10 pain and was sleeping 16 hours a day. Needless to say quality of life was in the tank. Dr. Harf, reviewed my Dad's files, order a Ct. Scan, consulted with every doctor my Dad was seeing including an internist, a pain specialist, the Mayo Clinic. When he couldn't figure out the cause Dr. Harf consulted with one of his peers. Instead of pushing for a surgical intervention that we were willing to undergo for any kind of relief, Dr. Harf prescribed a medication for Diabetic neuropathies and shingles nerve pain. He told my dad to get off the the narcotics. No hugs. No Psycho babble. Just an intense desire on Dr. Harf's behalf to improve my Dad's quality of life. Within one week it made a difference. Two weeks later I swear I have my old father back again. No narcotics. He is up at 6AM, no naps, no narcotics, he is working on his model boats, he is engaged in conversations, he is eating and is laughing and joking around. Dr. Harf did what three years of doctors and specialists could not do. We are indebted to him and will be profoundly grateful for as long as we are blessed to have my Dad. With deepest respect and appreciation, Thank you Dr. Harf read more

I had back surgery, serious back surgery. In fact I had it twice. Once at CPMC in San Francisco and it did nothing. I then contacted Dr. Harf's office. He was brilliant, personable, knowledgeable and to the point. I am now 7 weeks post-op and I was able to not only attend my grandson's wedding I did so pain free from my pre-op pain. I'd have the surgery again, no doubt. I highly recommend him. Madeleine read more

Dr. Harf operated on my back - anterior fusion L4-5/L5-S1 and posterior decompression and fusion on December 5, 2013. It was the scariest thing I've ever been through. By the beginning of that February, I was walking around in Yosemite. He is an excellent surgeon, straight forward and to the point. He's not warm and fuzzy, he's not going to coddle you or hold your hand the whole way, but he is knowledgeable, encouraging and his surgical skills, quite honestly show the incredible surgeon that he is! read more

Be very careful if you see this doctor. He tried to push me into a back operation that, when I got a second opinion from UC Med, turned out to be unnecessary. Very high pressure tactics, both in the office and after I left (they called me). read more

Dr. Harf is an excellent surgeon. He takes the time to really listen, and I can can tell he is very much involved in his patient's situation. I have total confidence that he is an advocate who is way ahead of the game. I trust him completely. read more

My 95 year old mother was referred to Dr. Half for a compression fracture that pain meds couldn't touch. His staff quickly got her in and He recommended a Kyphoplasty which is effective and non-invasive. After waiting again for the insurance company, she was quickly scheduled. The very next day she needed a single Tylenol, and 1 week later is completely pain free. What more could you ask for? read more

Dr. Harf. has some bad bed side manners. when I am at my appointment and he is with me, he accpets and takes personal phone calls to set up his next tee off time. he did that twice. when he is with a patient the doctor's cell phone should be off. They ask the patients to have their cell phones off so should the doctor. He did not spend much time with me, It took longer to drive to get to the apointment then he spent with me. does not want to help you just tells you to lose weight and everything will be A OK. I will never see this Bozo again. One of the very few doctors I will never see again or recommend. read more