Should Coalition Doctors be required to give atleast a 6 month update?

[tisab]

Hello everyone, i have been thinking about this lately after i been reading several posts.

 

there was one post about HT doctors in Chicago, and the only coalition doctor in chicago was Dr. Raymond Konior

 

another post came up

 

a female who went to a coalition doctor by the name of William Reed.

 

now, i know they are coalition doctors, and Pat checked out their work before they became a coalition doctor, but i beleive their work should be out there more.

 

besides not seeing their results on patients since i became a member in december 06, i have not see other coalition doctors works either.

 

just to name a few

Leonard E. Aronovitz, D.O.

Glenn Charles, D.O

Edmond I. Griffin

Robert Haber, M.D

Sharon Keene, MD(i think i only seen one work of hers and it wasnt too good, confirm?)

Raymond Konior, MD

Dr. Bernard Nusbaum

Thomas Chung Wai

William Reed

Dr. Arthur Tykocinski

 

not only should these doctors showcase their work for potential patients to see so they can get a feel of what to expect, it also keeps a good line of competition. competition from different doctors will benefit patients and doctors as doctors have a need to keep up with current techniques and patients benefit as they get better results.

 

now i know you may be thinking, competition is bad for business right?

well i dont think so in this case. The average price per graft is 3$ and has stayed at that constant price for quite a while, most ht doctors are booked in advance by 4 months(or so atleast i heard), which doesnt give a reason for ht doctors to need to decrease price from direct competition.

also in this industry, price is one of the last things you look at, you are looking for quality results.

 

Also the HT industry is expanding significantly, and there and more and more members on the Hair transplant network. H&W, Feller and a few other Doctors are booked months in advance and many people recommend people to have their work with these doctors, i just feel that we should widen our horizons and be able to recommend more doctors.

 

with all that being said, i just feel a need that all coalition doctors post patient results at least once every 6 months.

 

and last but not least, i couldnt see why these doctors would not want to do it, its basically like how i would say it, "free advertisement"?

[tisab]

Hello everyone, i have been thinking about this lately after i been reading several posts.

 

there was one post about HT doctors in Chicago, and the only coalition doctor in chicago was Dr. Raymond Konior

 

another post came up

 

a female who went to a coalition doctor by the name of William Reed.

 

now, i know they are coalition doctors, and Pat checked out their work before they became a coalition doctor, but i beleive their work should be out there more.

 

besides not seeing their results on patients since i became a member in december 06, i have not see other coalition doctors works either.

 

just to name a few

Leonard E. Aronovitz, D.O.

Glenn Charles, D.O

Edmond I. Griffin

Robert Haber, M.D

Sharon Keene, MD(i think i only seen one work of hers and it wasnt too good, confirm?)

Raymond Konior, MD

Dr. Bernard Nusbaum

Thomas Chung Wai

William Reed

Dr. Arthur Tykocinski

 

not only should these doctors showcase their work for potential patients to see so they can get a feel of what to expect, it also keeps a good line of competition. competition from different doctors will benefit patients and doctors as doctors have a need to keep up with current techniques and patients benefit as they get better results.

 

now i know you may be thinking, competition is bad for business right?

well i dont think so in this case. The average price per graft is 3$ and has stayed at that constant price for quite a while, most ht doctors are booked in advance by 4 months(or so atleast i heard), which doesnt give a reason for ht doctors to need to decrease price from direct competition.

also in this industry, price is one of the last things you look at, you are looking for quality results.

 

Also the HT industry is expanding significantly, and there and more and more members on the Hair transplant network. H&W, Feller and a few other Doctors are booked months in advance and many people recommend people to have their work with these doctors, i just feel that we should widen our horizons and be able to recommend more doctors.

 

with all that being said, i just feel a need that all coalition doctors post patient results at least once every 6 months.

 

and last but not least, i couldnt see why these doctors would not want to do it, its basically like how i would say it, "free advertisement"?

[the B spot]

Tisab, you are right my friend.

 

I think Dr. Tessler or Aronovitz is retired????

 

Anyway, I think the recent involvement by Dr. Limmer will help some of the gunshy docs to post their result and keep us up to date.

 

Good Topic,

J

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Tisab,

 

I agree that it would be healthy for everyone if more physicians took an active roll on this forum and shared examples of their current work. While I'm confident in the work of the Coalition physicians, it would serve to reassure members of this forum to see their work on the forum. But keep in mind that our photo gallery is being updated by physicians on a regular basis.

 

Currently some of the forums are dominated by a handful of clinics that are proactive on the forums. Thus clinics earn reputations not based on their actual work but visibilty. Patients end up fixated on one handful of clinics and miss the big picture.

 

I have tried to make our forum a more level playing field by encouraging all our recommended physicians to get involved, while also presenting highlights from my visits to clinics. I also require all potential recommended clinics to present their work on our forum for consideration.

 

Unfortunately, trying to get physicians who are already swamped with patients, staff, surgery etc to become active on the forum is like pushing a rope. But I will continue to try.

 

Dr. Brad Limmer now gets it and has made some nice contributions. Dr. Reed and his associate Dr. Tim Carmen have also just gotten started.

 

P.S. Dr. Tessler did retire and at the top of his game. But his associate Dr. Aronovitz continues to perform top notch ultra refined hair transplantation.

Dr. Thomas Chung Wai is not recommended on our site.

[Al - Moderator]

I don't think it's right to require anyone to post here, but I do think they should be required to update us on their current work. There's a section of this site that lists all of the coalition doctors and you can view before and after pictures from each doctor. Some of those pics are several years old. If the docs would just update those once a year or so with bigger and better pictures that would be all we need from them to keep us updated on their latest work.

[rp1979]

Originally posted by Pat - Publisher of this Community:

Currently some of the forums are dominated by a handful of clinics that are proactive on the forums. Thus clinics earn reputations not based on their actual work but visibilty. Patients end up fixated on one handful of clinics and miss the big picture.

 

I think that statement is spot on.

 

It is really a double edge sword. Most consumers are rightfully lazy to really independently verify ALL of the quality HT doctors that are out there. So websites like HTN provides a very good filter.

 

At the same time, a lot of quality clinics, those who are mentioned and not mentioned on HTN, find that they already have more than enough work/business to warrant the need to actively promote themselves online.

 

I mean it is not surprising that all of the clinics most people TALK about are those that market heavily by having employees posting in the forums, flashing internet banner ads, good-looking models in the after pics, offices around the world etc. I'm not trying to discredit any quality clinics that engage in such practices. It's just that sometimes the pudding does have extra sugar - which is probably what most consumers want.

[MrJobi]

Indeed RP

 

There are several "cheerleaders" on here who do provide some extra exposure. Many coalition docs on here do not get the credit they deserve. Consumers should take an active role in choosing a doc

 

-Visit several doctors

-See actual patients

-do more research

-Be objective and realistic

-Have a good strategy with your doctor

 

With this network which is a great tool and the above mentioned items, you can get the real deal

[Bill - Seemiller]

I like the ideas posed on this thread...

 

I think SOME kind of involvement by the recommended/coalition doctors on this forum would be beneficial. Should it be required? I'm leaning towards yes. Otherwise, how can perspective patients really know if their level of care has remained the same, or improved?

 

After all, we have seen the a few physicians over time get removed because they didn't live up to standards that they had once achieved. Unfortunately, this was discovered after several patients didn't receive the expected/anticipated result.

 

It would be nice to find SOME way to prevent (at least as much as possible) patients from obtaining a poor result, ESPECIALLY from the recommended doctors of this community.

 

Even if each clinic posted ONE case per year from start to finish (giving quarterly updates) - which would be 4 posts a year. Of course, this would be a MINIMUM requirement.

 

Kudos to those doctors who have started (and continue) to become an active participant in this community. I just hope that more will.

 

OF COURSE, the BEST form of information on a clinic is when the PATIENT posts their experience and photos - start to finish. If there was any way that the doctors could encourage their patients to post here, that would be terrific as well. Of course, there would be no way to require this...it just would be an added bonus.

 

Anyway...these ideas are great...and if there is any way that I can be involved to help make something like this happen, I'd be willing to be involved.

 

Bill

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Also the HT industry is expanding significantly, and there and more and more members on the Hair transplant network. H&W, Feller and a few other Doctors are booked months in advance and many people recommend people to have their work with these doctors, i just feel that we should widen our horizons and be able to recommend more doctors.

 

While hair transplants have gained a huge amount of popularity the pool of top notch surgeons has expanded very little. In fact, I've actually removed more physicians in the past two years than I've added based on merit and quality.

 

Frankly, I don't think patients need more choices as much as more information about the very best clinics.

 

There are over 1000 practicing hair transplant surgeons. And "practicing" is a good description for the vast majority of them, many of whom do it only as a sideline.

 

In my opinion, only the top 5 to 10% of hair transplant clinics really merit recommendation. The cream is a very thin layer in the hair transplant industry/profession.

[tisab]

While hair transplants have gained a huge amount of popularity the pool of top notch surgeons has expanded very little. In fact, I've actually removed more physicians in the past two years than I've added based on merit and quality.

 

Frankly, I don't think patients need more choices as much as more information about the very best clinics.

 

im sorry i did not say this clearly, when i meant that we should be able to recommend more doctors, i meant recommend more doctors that are already on the coalition list. For example most people will recommend only a few selected doctor's, examples Feller and H&W, but we should be able to recommend everyone who is on the coalition doctor list.

I am not trying to discredit your system or site, far from it, i beleive its great, i just thought we can improve it.

[gazzasgoin2]

Good thread, I agree that those clinics who can devote time to post do end up having an advantage. They are ultimately more visible to propective patients and would seem to be more accountable for their work by being active online.

 

However, thats not to say other clinics with a lesser presence aren't also doing gold standard HT's. They may just not be geared up to spend time on the forums everyday.

 

Maybe there is a compromise. I have seen on one of the other forums a section where surgeons are invited periodically for a one day open Q&A forum. This would seem ideal for those clinics who simply do not have the time to be online on a daily basis to update us on their work and answer any questions.

[Jrbrass]

I Don't know about the other coalition doctors, but I'm a patient of Dr. Sharon Keene. If you go under her name, you'll go to her website. Their you can see several blogs of her patients who have received transplants by her. Also, Dr. Keene has a link to her personal H/T website which shows pictures of her work and quality. So, maybe if you do a little homework, you might find the other doctors have a simular website which shows their patients and thier pictures.

[Pat - Community Publisher]

I have notified one of the Coalition members that his membership will be suspended by August 1st if he does not provide compelling patient photos demonstrating that he and his staff have the capability to successfully provide patients with 2,500 plus graft ultra refined sessions when appropriate.

 

While I have visited this physicians clinic and seen him performing ultra refined follicular unit grafting and seen compelling examples of large sessions I believe he owes it to this community to show examples of this work on both his profile/recommendation page and in the patient photo gallery of the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center. His current photos are very old and show only small session results from years past.

 

I gave this physician three written notifications regarding this issue over the past three months. He has chosen not to make sharing such results a priority and therefore will now loose the bennefits of this community.

 

I need the members of the Coalition and all recommended physicians to realize that I'm deadly serious about them needing to publicly demonstrate their results if they are going to retain their recommendations.

 

I'm also going to suspend Dr. Katz's recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network August 1st if his staff continues to not respond to my requests for photos. I have also attempted to visit his clinic on two occasions now, including recently and he some how is never available. Frankly, given a lack of feedback from his patients and my not being able to visit his clinic and see his work I think it is appropriate to suspend his recommendation unless compelling photos, including immediate post ops, are presented within one week.

 

No one is vested on this community - no matter what their "credentials". All physicians need to produce and show outstanding results if they want to continue to be recommended on this community.

 

Note - The photos these physicians have failed to provide are for the Hair Transplant Network and not this forum. While I encourage physicians to share their patient results on the forum I will not remove them if they don't post.

 

I'm open to any feedback regarding this issue.

 

Pat

[Guest]

Maybe they need a llittle encouragement?

 

Like how about a Golden follicle award for the cliic with the most photos posted for the month?

 

it could be a 3 hair golden follicle on a stand.

 

And the golden follicle goes to.....Dr.......

[Bill - Seemiller]

Pat,

 

Well done! Thank you for your continued devotion to hold the recommended/coalition physicians to a higher level of standards.

 

I'm disappointed that Dr. Katz hasn't answered the call to display recent photos. It's also a shame that he, for whatever reason, has not been availble (or made himself available) for visitation.

 

I do know that his clinic has expanded to do many other things besides hair restoration at this point - which in the world of hair restoration, this isn't a good thing.

 

But the bottom line is...if a doctor is not going to answer the call of this community - no matter who he/she is - then it's time to move on.

 

I hope this coalition doctor and Dr. Katz answer the call, but if not, I support their removal.

 

Bill

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Folica,

 

Funny you should suggest this. A few years ago I actually did give an award called the "Platinum Keyboard" (a play on the "Platinum Follicle) to the most active physician on our forum who provided the most helpful input.

 

At that time years ago Dr. Bill Parsley won the award. Unfortunately, he's not online these days.

 

Pat

[Guest]

Pat, That is funny! Something to put on thier desk! LOL!

 

I just want to say your actions really go along way in giving us the confidence to make recommendations to the newbies & also with proceeding with our own future procedures!

 

It proves this is not just a "Pay to be listed network".

 

Doctors & members alike can be proud to be affilated with the Hair transplant network.

 

Way to go Pat!

[Here I Grow Again]

I agree 100% with this process as it is a valid and necessary method of showcasing recent work to prospective clients. I would never consider a doctor unless I were able to see recent work. Times change and so do abilities.

 

Posting recent work either on this site or the doctor's site should be mandatory.