BAHRS STANDARDS

The BAHRS recognises that there is little regulation within the Cosmetic Surgery field. Following the recommendations of the 2013 Department of Health Keogh Report Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions and the 2013 Royal College of Surgeons document Professional Standards for Cosmetic Practice, the BAHRS developed Professional Standards for those members who have direct surgical contact with patients. When signing their respective Codes of Conduct, all Hair Transplant Surgeon members, Hair Transplant Surgical Assistant members, and Scalp Micropigmentation Practitioner members agree to abide by the BAHRS Professional Standards that pertain to them.

The BAHRS also recognises its members should adhere to basic Clinical Standards regarding their Hair Restoration Surgery practice. However there is little published guidance on this subject. The BAHRS has embarked on an on-going project to develop a set of Clinical Standards that will be reviewed and augmented annually based on the results of Common Practice exercises. The Clinical Standards are NOT outcome measures and do not aim to describe what results should be expected from Hair Restoration Surgery but rather to describe the process that patients should expect the majority of BAHRS members to follow. If a BAHRS member deviates from the Clinical Standards and is questioned by a patient regarding the reasons why, there should be a clear justification given.

CODES OF CONDUCT

All members of the BAHRS are required to sign the Code of Conduct that is relevant to their profession and membership category. In having its members sign a Code of Conduct, the BAHRS seeks to reassure the public that its Hair Transplant Surgeon members comply with ethical and practice standards that are similar to those expected of doctors working within the National Health Service and that the behaviour of all other members is in line with explicit standards approved by the Association.

Members who fail to abide by the principles within their relevant Code of Conduct will be subject to an enquiry by the BAHRS Disciplinary Committee and would be expelled from the Association if their conduct was found to be at odds with the honourable behaviour expected by the Association.

BAHRS MEMBERS COMMON PRACTICE

The BAHRS has an ongoing commitment to establishing Professional and Clinical Standards that its members are expected to adhere to, and which can be found in the Professional Documents section of this website. In order to establish Clinical Standards it is necessary to reach consensus on current practice of the members. It is acknowledged that these Standards may evolve with changes and developments in the field of Hair Restoration.

Consensus is reached by the collegiate exchange of information with regards to the individual (or group) practice of the BAHRS members. This is referred to as establishing Common Practice. It should be specifically noted that being an outlier from the Common Practice does not necessarily imply poor or substandard practice. Indeed, there might be instances when the majority learn from the good practice of the minority and the Common Practice might therefore evolve with time. However, the documentation of Common Practice allows Hair Transplant Surgeons in the UK (and around the world) to bench mark themselves against the practice of the majority of BAHRS Hair Transplant Surgeon members. It is important to note that the following documents are NOT standards of practice and only address specific areas of Hair Restoration Surgery practice at specific points in time.