I was working on the front lines of
my optical shop the other day, and a young woman
entered. I was helping another patient, so I simply
smiled and said, “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
She replied, “I only have one quick question: Do you
sell contact lenses?” I said we did, so long as she
had a valid prescription, to which she explained, “Oh
no…I don’t need a prescription…I just want to
change the color of my eyes.”
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It is for these times at work, and in
life, I wish I had an electronic game-show-like buzzer
that I could press, and say, “Oh sorry! Thanks for
playing.” After all, in the United States there is no
such thing as a non-prescription contact lens. That
event, coupled with some strange questions I’ve been
getting in recent CE classes tells me that maybe we need
to revisit some of the guidelines put in place by the
FCLCA (Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act). |
Next year marks the 10th anniversary
of what is arguably the thing given to us by our last
president – George W. Bush – that most affects eye
care professionals. I am of course referring to the
Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, hereafter
referred to as the FCLCA. It was passed by Congress and
subsequently signed into law by Bush in 2003. The law
mandated that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) develop
guidelines and enforcement regulations, which they did
the following year, by way of the Contact Lens Rule.
What ECPs know (that apparently the
young woman in my shop did not) is that despite the fact
there may be no need for vision correction, a contact
lens is a foreign body being placed on the cornea. So
whether a patient’s correction is plano or +/- 5.00,
the material, base curve, and diameter of that device
must be prescribed after a thorough eye exam; not to
mention the need for follow-up care to make sure the eye
is maintaining a healthy state despite contact lens
wear.
Additionally, all contact lenses –
even ones intended solely for cosmetic purposes – are
classified as medical devices by the United States Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), and as such cannot be
legally purchased in the United States without a valid
prescription written by an optometrist, ophthalmologist,
or a doctor of osteopathy. Before the FCLCA was enacted,
prescribers could “force” their patients to purchase
their contact lenses where they had been examined. This
sometimes put an unreasonable financial burden on the
patient – or as the law refers to them, the consumer.
Also, prior to 2003, when a person
purchased contact lenses over the Internet, upon
checkout, the seller merely had a field on the order
form that read something like: “Do you have a valid
doctor’s prescription? Check yes or no.” Now how
many people do you think checked no? So ostensibly, to
make contact lens wear more affordable and accessible,
while at the same time, making sure that consumers were
indeed under a doctor’s care…abracadabra…we have
the FCLCA, which lays out rules to be followed by
prescribers of contact lenses, and sellers of contact
lenses.
Prescribers: The regulations of the
FCLCA apply to any person who is licensed by any state
to prescribe contact lenses. The first guideline calls
for what can best be described as automatic prescription
release. The FCLCA states that when the contact lens
fitting is complete, the patient must be given a copy of
the prescription – whether they ask for it or not! No
extra fee may be charged for the prescription release,
and the patient may not sign a form waiving the right to
a copy of the Rx. Bottom line – that patient should be
handed a copy of the Rx the moment the fitting is
complete! Failing to comply with the automatic
prescription release can result in a fine of more than
$10,000. Also the prescriber may not indicate an
expiration date less than one year – unless it is
medically necessary.
A prescriber must also provide or
verify the contact lens prescription not only to the
patient, but to anyone who is acting on the patient’s
behalf. While that seems a little murky, what it means
is if another contact lens seller calls and asks for
verification of a person’s contact lens prescription
it must be given: all pertinent information including
any corrections and the expiration date.
Sellers: What exactly constitutes a
contact lens seller? Well, any person or entity that
sells contact lenses! Chances are if you’re reading
this magazine you are a contact lens seller. Most
opticians and optometrists, and many ophthalmologists
are contact lens sellers. Wal-Mart is a contact lens
seller, as are all of the online entities that sell
contacts directly to the public. What does the FCLCA
have to say about contact lens sellers? Basically, the
responsibility lies with the seller to make sure that
the consumer is able to make the purchase ONLY if he/she
is in possession of a valid (that is, not expired)
contact lens prescription. As a front-line ECP you
validate prescriptions every day. How? By looking at a
prescription you are handed; making sure it’s signed,
not expired, and looks legitimate, that’s how.
However, it’s not that easy for an online seller.
For better or worse, the FCLCA is why
you get those annoying phone calls every day attempting
to verify the validity of a contact lens prescription. I
have been told by more than one optician that when they’re
busy, they simply ignore the request for verification.
Be careful here. By simply ignoring the request you may
be unknowingly facilitating the very thing you wish you
could prevent. By that I mean the FCLCA states that when
a request for verification is sent, the clock begins to
tick. An ECP (in most cases this means the prescriber)
has eight business hours to respond to the verification
request.
Now here’s the sticky part: If a
prescriber fails to respond to that request for
verification within eight business hours, that contact
lens seller can assume that indeed, the prescription is
valid. By the way, many bricks and mortar ECPs use this
provision of the law to their advantage, in two ways.
First, if they discover the prescription is valid, they
do nothing. This saves the time and hassle of responding
and effectively achieves the same result, that is,
verifies that the Rx is valid. Second, sometimes they
use that eight hours to their advantage by calling the
patient. The call might go something like this: “Hi
Miss Jones. I just received a call for prescription
verification from your online contact lens vendor. I
just wanted you to know that we have those lenses in
stock. Maybe you could avoid the wait and all the
shipping and handling costs by just getting them here.”
Some ECPs also try to capture the business with
complimentary cleaning solutions, cases, or an extra
pair free (think trial lenses).
While it’s not perfect, for now it’s
all we have. You can learn more about the FCLCA and the
FTC’s Contact Lens Rule at the FTC’s website (ftc.gov)
or by calling (877) FTC-HELP.
