Action Alert: Oppose FTC Rule on Contact Lens Prescriptions

COA members are urgently requested to immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to express opposition to the flawed, extraordinarily unfair proposal that has emerged from its once-per-decade review of the Contact Lens Rule. The FTC is proposing to make it a legal requirement for all eye doctors (doctors of optometry and ophthalmologists) to secure from each contact lens patient a specific, signed acknowledgement of receipt of their contact lens prescription. 

Your profession and patients need your help NOW. The FTC is asking for public comments on its proposal by January 30, 2017. To submit your objection:

• Click here to provide your comments directly to the FTC. You can use the sample message here to let FTC officials know where optometry stands. (Note: All comments submitted to the FTC become part of the publicly accessible record of the rule-making process. Since some doctors may wish to make their views known anonymously, the AOA will accept comments from any doctor seeking to preserve privacy (see below). AOA will ensure that every doctor’s views are appropriately reflected, without identification, in the AOA's official response to the agency.
• Click here to submit private comments to AOA about the FTC proposal and to report illegal sales practices of internet contact lens sellers.  

Remember, state and federal rules require that after an eye exam or contact lens fitting, you must give the patient their prescription, whether they ask for it or not. You cannot require the patient to pay an extra fee, buy eyeglasses or contact lenses, or sign a waiver. See the COA fact sheet “FTC’s Eyeglass Rule and Contact Lens Rule” for more information on complying with FTC prescription requirements.

This is a dangerous, ill-informed and burdensome proposal that would target doctors and patients, rather than the abuses of the internet contact lens sales industry — and it must be stopped.

By way of background, the proposed signed receipt would state: "My eye care professional provided me with a copy of my contact lens prescription at the completion of my contact lens fitting. I understand that I am free to purchase contact lenses from the seller of my choice." This receipt would need to be stored by the doctor for three years. As doctors know, the FTC’s proposal to penalize us does not address and does not solve the decade-long illegal business practices of online contact lens sellers that put the health and safety of your patients at risk.

Following the comment period deadline, the FTC will consider the issue further. At a future date—potentially weeks or months later—the FTC will issue either a final rule or a revised proposal.

If you have questions or if you need more information, please contact the AOA Washington office at 800-365-2219. You can also reach out via e-mail to Kara Webb at kcwebb@aoa.org or to Dr. Andrea Thau, AOA president, at president@aoa.org.