Hair Restoration Societies and Accreditations

I am researching the hair transplant doctors to find someone I want to tie my hitch to. On your New Hair site I noticed that you had four links at the bottom of the left column. Why do you link to them and what is the significance? Some doctors have similar links on their sites, but I haven’t seen the AAAHC triangle logo before.

Here’s a little on each external link you’re referring to, as found on the New Hair Institute homepage:

1. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) is one of two national accreditation agencies for surgical centers. The “accreditation from this organization is a voluntary process through which an organization is able to measure the quality of its services and performance against nationally recognized standards. The accreditation process involves self-assessment by the organization, as well as a thorough review by the Accreditation Association’s expert surveyors, who themselves have extensive experience in the ambulatory health care environment. The accreditation certificate is a symbol that an organization is committed to providing high-quality health care and that it has demonstrated that commitment by measuring up to the Accreditation Association’s high standards.” I believe that our clinic is the only fully accredited HAIR TRANSPLANT facility in the United States (other than those that have plastic surgical accreditation) that has taken the effort to obtain such recognition. The reviewers have always rated our service as meeting or exceeding the best standards in the country.
2. The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) is an organization of physicians who have banded together setting a standard for the industry’s standard of care, the Follicular Unit Transplant.
3. The American Hair Loss Association (AHLA) is an organization focused on consumer education.
4. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a non-profit medical association of over 700 physicians specializing in alopecia and hair loss. The ISHRS provides continuing education to physicians specializing in hair transplant and restoration surgery and gives the public the latest information on medical hair restoration and non-surgical treatment for hair loss.

I believe in excellence, whatever the cost. There are no shortcuts to delivering a quality product. I have a terrific staff and pay them well so that they have a quality life at home and can focus upon my patients when they come to work. For this reason, I retain 100% of those that I want to retain and many have been with me for more than a decade. The AAAHC (a completely voluntary effort that is a very costly process for us and equates to the rigorous standards imposed upon hospitals today) is a way that I guarantee to myself that our standard matches the best standards in the world. To comply with these standards, I calculated that my annual cost exceeds $100,000/year and both of our offices are certified by the AAAHC. Our focus upon supporting national and international hair restoration / hair loss societies (like IAHRS, ISHRS, and AHLA) are reflective of our patient and physician educational efforts, which should be supported by those in this industry. Our involvement with them is consistent with the massive efforts we have made over the years to innovate (leading the standards that are accepted and adopted by everyone of value in the industry) and force an improving hair restoration environment along with others who share this objective. See the History of NHI and the NHI Timeline for more.