Contact Lens Prescription Renewal: Prescribers still need to issue prescriptions

Your patient reports that you are panicking because she is wearing her last pair of contact lenses. Maybe she can’t (or doesn’t want to) come into the office due to COVID-19. You may use your medical judgment to determine that it is appropriate to renew or extend this prescription. How do the Contact Lens Consumer Act and Contact Lens Rules apply to this interaction?

Although prescribers may seek the best interests of the patient by renewing or extending a prescription in this situation, they must still comply with the law. Renewals or extensions (including if you determine that you do not need to change your existing prescription) count as a “contact lens fitting” Contact Lens Consumer Fairness Act and Contact Lens Rules. This means that if you renew or extend a patient’s prescription in this situation, you must still provide the patient with a copy of their contact lens prescription, whether they ask for it or not. If the prescriber is willing to sell the lens to the patient, the fitting is complete and the prescriber must automatically provide the patient with a copy of the prescription.

Under the Act and the Rules, you cannot require a patient to pay as a condition of providing or verifying their contact lens prescription. Yes, you can require patients to pay for an exam, fitting, or evaluation before providing the patient with a copy of their prescription, but only if you also require immediate payment from patients whose eye exams show they do not need glasses or contact lenses. Prescribers also cannot require patients to purchase contact lenses or sign a waiver or release as a condition of releasing or verifying a prescription. These prohibitions apply to prescription renewals and extensions.

So renew those prescriptions if medically appropriate, but provide prescriptions to your patients – and compete for lens sales on price and convenience.