IAHRS accepted member and past president of the ABHRS, Scott Boden M.D. has a candid conversation with Spencer Kobren concerning the value of becoming a diplomate of the ABHRS as well the importance for the board to change its ideology and thinking to fit today’s times.

Scott Boden, MD: Let me just talk for a second about the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. I really believe in this as not so much an educational organization, because I think that's really the role of the ISHRS and other forum, FORA. But the ABHRS really provides a standard for a physician to become a member of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, and there's a huge international component of doctors that want to have that credential. The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery carries a lot of weight in India, if you're a ABHRS-credentialed doctor.

But to meet those credentials, those qualifications, you have to really demonstrate a, I'll say pretty vast, a knowledge base. You have to pass a qualifying examination. Oral examination. You have to demonstrate a case log of 100s of cases and provide photographs, before and after. So I think there's some value in having an international standard of excellence. And I really think the ABHRS does a great job. So I'm past president of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. I've been involved in the board for over ten years. I really think that if a patient is considering hair transplantation, they need to look for someone who has that credential.

If you're a diplomat of the ABHRS, it means you've at least met a certain standard and pretty high standard to get that sort of qualification. It's not, again, it aint, "I just bought a device. I can do it." It's a, "I've met a certain criteria whether I'm using a device or not using a device. This is, you know, I have the capability of doing excellent work."

Spencer Kobren: Well I want to say that I agree with that. And I was in talks, as you know, with the ABHRS to potentially help move things along. And again, I'm just seen in their mind as some marketing guy. They want a business proposal to work with and I'm like, look. That's the last thing you guys want. I want to be able to provide consumers with a minimal standard to look at. I don't want to market for you. I don't want to work for you. I want you guys to work with me so that we can get your message out there in a much bigger way.

You saw the back and forth. It didn't work out. And I understand that. But it's ... well, I don't understand it. But I understand the reasoning behind it, because A) ... please take this in the spirit that it's meant, you guys aren't necessarily entrepreneurs.

Scott Boden, MD: I take no offense. I'm really good at what I do and I think being an entrepreneur isn't the top of my skill set.

Spencer Kobren: And we all have different skill sets, and so there's also a certain level of ... There're ideological prejudices and misinformation about who I am and what I do. I believe that I could bring the ABHRS into the 21st century in a way that nobody else can.