The court penalizes "Health Center 4" for deceiving patients about hair transplantation and misconduct
The Riga City Court has completed the case against the medical center "Health Center 4" for deceiving patients about hair transplantation, misconduct, and unlawful use of the protected hair transplantation brand Rubenhair. This brand is used by Rubenhair hair clinic, founded in 2013.
Rubenhair Hair Transplantation Clinic is the leading hair treatment and transplantation clinic in Latvia and the Baltic States, performing high-quality hair and eyebrow transplantation. The Rubenhair Hair Transplant Clinic provides high-quality, visible, natural, and reliable results for both men and women.
The "Health Center 4" medical center registered the domain www.rubenhair.lv in 2022, upon opening which the "Health Center 4" website appeared, offering hair transplantation services identical to those offered by the Rubenhair hair transplantation and treatment clinic for 11 years since 2013. Several complaints have been received about poorly performed hair transplants at the "Health Center 4" medical center. The main criterion for the quality of hair transplantation is the surgeon's ISHRS certificate (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, located in the USA).
The court decision stipulates to delete from the register and cease the illegal use by the "Health Center 4" medical center of the protected hair transplantation brand Rubenhair, as well as to cease misleading patients of clinic VC4 regarding hair transplantation by pretending to be a company they are not.
The majority owner of the "Health Center 4" medical center, Maris Revalds, together with former Latvian Minister of Health Ivars Eglitis, owns the joint private company "Visual Diagnostics" SIA. Ivars Eglitis served as Latvian Minister of Health from 2007 to 2009. This company, registered in 2006, offers state-funded diagnostic examinations and has established private branches in state hospitals. The turnover of "Visual Diagnostics" SIA in 2022 is 7.5 million euros, with a profit after tax calculation of 2.1 million euros. The company's turnover in 2021 was 7.7 million euros, with a profit after tax payment of 1.8 million euros.
Effective utilization of healthcare system resources means changes. The task of state leaders is to ensure maximum effective, rational use of state budget funds in the provision of healthcare services, as well as to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption risks.