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  • Changes to the Contact Lens Rule & Prescription Verification

    Since they were initially released in 2016, the Academy has conducted a multipronged campaign to oppose changes to the Contact Lens Rule proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Specifically, the Academy objected to a proposed requirement that all contact lens prescribers secure and store a signed patient acknowledgment form confirming the receipt of a copy of their contact lens prescription. Each signed acknowledgment form would have to be maintained by the prescriber for a period of three years.

    In 2019, as a result of the Academy’s advocacy efforts, the FTC revised its original proposal and provided prescribers with multiple avenues for confirming prescription release, as well as exemptions for prescribers without a financial stake in the sale of contact lenses.

    In 2020, FTC finalized changes to the Contact Lens Rule. There are four ways prescribers can comply:

    1. Request that the patient acknowledge receipt of the contact lens prescription by signing a separate statement confirming receipt;
    2. Request that the patient sign a prescriber-retained copy of a contact lens prescription that contains a statement confirming receipt;
    3. Request that the patient sign a prescriber-retained copy of the sales receipt for the examination that contains a statement confirming receipt; and,
    4. If a digital copy of the prescription was provided to the patient (via an online portal, electronic mail, or text message), retain evidence that such prescription was sent, received, or made accessible, downloadable, and printable.

    The Academy’s advocacy efforts also thwarted additional proposed changes, such as extending the length of contact lens prescriptions to multiple years. Also, in response to Academy recommendations, the FTC is imposing new requirements on online sellers of contact lenses, including changes to automated prescription verification calls

    In the 116th Congress, the Academy is supporting legislation that would ban the use of automated or pre-recorded voice messages to verify contact lens prescriptions. The Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act (H.R. 3975) was introduced by Reps. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Michael Burgess MD, R-Texas. The Academy is aware that these “robocalls” are an administrative burden on practices and pose risks to patient health, as they often lead to patients getting the wrong contact lenses due to difficulty verifying prescriptions.