On February 4th, the new Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act went into effect. Some contact lens retailers apparently didnt get the memo.

But the act is not a finished document. The text states that doctors have eight business hours or a similar time frame to be determined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to respond to a retailers verification message. If no response is received, the prescription is considered valid and is dispensed to the patient.
However, a notice the FTC published in the February 4th issue of the Federal Register states eight business hours is not expressly defined in the Act, but that the purpose of the time period is to give prescribers an adequate period of time during normal office hours to act upon a prescription verification request, while at the same time allowing sellers to fill customer orders expeditiously.

The notice further defines a business hour as an hour between 9a.m. and 5p.m. during a weekday, excluding federal holidays.

Sounds straightforward? Now if only contact lens retailers like 1-800 Contacts would comply with it, say some doctors. Some retailers are still calling to verify prescriptions in the middle of the night and then shipping the lenses before the doctors office even gets the message.

Optometrist Robert Brooks of Charleston, S.C., says, We got an automated call at 9p.m. We called the patient in the morning to let them know our prices were actually better than 1-800 Contacts. But, when the patient called 1-800 to cancel her order, she was told the lenses were already shipped.

In other cases, O.D.s say messages are unclear, leave out key information, or do not give the office staff any options to respond to the message. Still, other docs end up paying long-distance charges to respond to retailers without toll-free numbers.

Dr. Brooks says the real problem with the act is that culpability now lies more heavily with the prescribing doctor than with the retailer. Prior to this, there was more culpability on the end of the retailer if they filled a prescription that was out-of-date, he says. Now, it seems the culpability lies with the practitioner who doesnt, or in some cases cant, respond. 

 However, you still have recourse if you are unhappy with the stipulations of the new law:

Contact the FTC. The FTC is required by law to research and report back to Congress in 12 months about how the new law impacts the contact lens industry. Within the next six to nine months, the FTC will draft its report to Congress and is currently soliciting public comment on the act.

You can tell the FTC about problems youve encountered at the agencys web site, www.ftc.gov. Click on File A Complaint, at the top of the page. Be sure your message includes all pertinent information and refers to Contact Lens Rule, Project No. R411002. You can also e-mail your comments to contactlensrule@ftc.gov.

Contact the AOA. You may also forward a copy of your complaint to Jeff Mays (JGMays@aoa. org) at the AOAs Washington office. Mr. Mays will be involved in discussions with the FTC as they prepare the final ruling.

Report complications to ARBO. The Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) has been gathering information on complications due to illegally dispensed contact lenses for about a year. The initial results were released at this years SECO meeting at the end of February. ARBO began compiling information reported by doctors across the country in an effort to give the FDA and FTC a better understanding of the extent and severity of contact lens complications associated with invalid prescriptions.

The most common sign or symptom reported was stinging (42%), followed by neovascularization/ pannus (37%), foreign body sensation (36%), burning (35%) and corneal edema (34%). ARBO estimates the total cost per incident, including patient costs and loss of income, as well as third party plans, was $210.34 in 2003.

ARBO president Russell W. Jones, O.D., urges eyecare professionals to use the ARBO forms to report complications. As professionals concerned about the health of our patients, each of us needs to take the time to document the many problems that we observe in our practices virtually everyday, he says.

You can download the form from ARBOs web site at www.arbo.org, or call (314) 785-6000 to request a form, or e-mail arbo@arbo.org.