The new Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act recently was signed into law and went into effect February 4. This new federal law will protect consumers by making it illegal to sell contact lenses without a valid prescription. In addition, this law will require sellers of contact lenses to contact the prescribing doctor for verification in accordance with the law. Doctors will have a set time (determined by the FTC) to respond to the request for verification.
"State laws around the country have varied about the verification process on prescriptions for contact lenses. Many times, patients were losing the battle. They were wearing outdated, ineffective lenses, or even the wrong prescriptions that could damage their eyes. Optometrists were concerned for their patients who could be at risk for injury or vision loss," said Victor J. Connors, O.D. and President of the American Optometric Association (AOA). "Protection of patient eye health and seller accountability were the AOA¡¯s priorities in working to establish this new law. We now feel that consumers and their eye health will be protected."
In fact, the AOA set the following criteria to protect patients in the new law:
- Mandated contact by seller with prescribing doctor to confirm prescriptions whenever a valid, hard copy prescription is not physically delivered or faxed by the patient to the seller;
- Requirements to ensure practitioners can properly identify the patients for whom contact lens verification is being requested;
- Specific prohibitions against the sale of contact lenses when a prescribing doctor informs a seller that a prescription is not valid; and
- Specific enforcement mechanisms with penalties.
The new law also establishes a federal expiration date of one year for a contact lens prescription (unless state law provides a longer period), and provides doctors with the opportunity to protect their patients from expired or invalid prescription.
The law serves to encourage patients to get yearly eye examinations due to the requirement for a prescription and the general one year prescription expiration rule. As the primary provider of vision care in the United States, the AOA recommends at least yearly visits for contact-lens wearing patients to ensure safety and good eye health. In addition, the law requires all eye doctors to release contact lens prescriptions to patients upon completion of the fitting of the contact lens.
The American Optometric Association, founded in 1898, represents more than 34,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians in more than 7,000 communities across the country. Optometrists examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures as well as diagnose related systemic conditions. The mission of the profession of optometry is to fulfill the vision and eye care needs of the public through clinical care, research and education, all of which enhance the quality of life of patients. |
