The Importance of Buying Prescription Contact Lenses
Reviewed by Henry Rosenthal, OD
Contact lens prescriptions are only intended to last one to two years for good reasons. During that time your eyesight can change, either by getting better or by worsening. Wearing the wrong prescription can cause major damage to your eye, so the FDA and FTC have put strict rules to the game of prescribing them.
They best way to ensure you're wearing the correct prescription is to have annual exams through your eye care practitioner or through an optical retailer like LensCrafters, Costco or Pearle Vision since most of these locations are able to provide you with an eye exam on site.
You can't get into any legal trouble if you were to purchase contact lenses through any retailer without a prescription, but they can. Still, some retailers continue to sell them to anyone willing to buy.
Important Rules From the FDA and FTC
The FDA and FTC have placed specific rules for ophthalmologists, optometrists, and licensed opticians to follow nationwide. It's all in the best interest of the patient and includes:
- Giving a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient at the end of the contact lens fitting, even if the patient doesn't ask for it.
- You as the patient can also have someone designated to act on behalf of you to be provided with all information or have the prescription verified.
- In any response to a verification request, anyone who prescribes contact lenses must correct anything wrong with the prescription, inform the seller if it's expired and/or specify the reason why it's incorrect.
Importance of Verification of Prescriptions
Sellers of contact lenses may provide them to you when you present your prescription in person, by fax, or by email if the prescription has been scanned and attached to the email. Also you can authorize the seller to verify the prescription via direct communication with you. An example of direct communication would be contact through the telephone or leaving a voicemail.
Verifying your prescription with the person who sells them to you is a great way to avoid any legal trouble for them, and it ensures you that you're receiving the correct prescription. When verifying a contact lens prescription, anyone who sells contact lenses must provide the following information to you. Some of the information is found on the label, while other information can be found in provided paperwork at fitting appointment.
- Patient's full name and address
- Contact lens power, manufacturer, base curve or appropriate designation, and diameter when appropriate
- quantity of lenses ordered
- Date of fitting
- Date and time of verification request
- A contact person for the seller, including name, fax and phone numbers
- A clear statement of regular business hours
- Under the rules of the FDA and FTC, a prescription is verified if you:
- Confirm its accuracy to the seller through some form of direct communication
- Inform the seller that the prescription is inaccurate and provide accurate information to the seller via direct communication or
- Fail to communicate with the seller within eight business hours of receiving a complete verification request.
Importance of Prescription Expiration Dates
It's so important you are aware of the expiration date of your prescription. Depending on state law, your prescription will only last you about one to two years. To make sure your eyes remain healthy you should not order lenses with a prescription that has expired.
Also, it's not a good idea to stock up on lenses right before the prescription is about to expire. It's much safer to be rechecked by your eye care practitioner. If you have not had a check-up in the last one or two years, you may have problems with your eyes that you are not aware of. This could result in the worsening of your eye's health.
What Practices Are Not Allowed
Anyone selling contact lenses must not:
- Fill a contact lens prescription unless they have either received a copy of the prescription or verified the prescription.
- Fill a contact lens prescription after receiving the complete verification request that the prescription is inaccurate, expired, or otherwise invalid
- Alter contact lens prescriptions. If the prescription specifies private label contact lenses, however, sellers may substitute "identical" contact lenses made by the same manufacturer and sold under a different name.
- Represent that consumers can get contact lenses without a prescription.
If you feel a company is practicing unethically please report it to the FDA and/or FTC. You may also contact that company to talk to them about it first and to give them a chance to fix the problem however, you should still report it.
[Page updated 12/2010]
