Legislation would prohibit any seller of prescription contact lenses from using robocalls to verify a consumer's prescription.
Washington, D.C. – April 10, 2024 — The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS) today released the below statement following the introduction of the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act (S. 4083) in the United States Senate. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), will modernize the contact lens prescription verification process and make it safer for millions of contact lens wearers by prohibiting telephone calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice, also known as robocalls, from being used as a method for verifying patients’ prescriptions. The bill is the companion to H.R. 2748, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in April 2023 by Representatives Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
David Cockrell O.D., Chairman of the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety, said, “We applaud Sens. Duckworth and Boozman for the introduction of the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act in the United States Senate, a true demonstration of their bipartisan commitment to patient safety. This legislation would bring the contact lens prescription verification process into the 21st century and provide peace of mind for contact lens patients and their doctors.”
Millions of Americans can purchase their contact lenses online due to the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA). However, as a patient health safeguard, the law requires online sellers to verify the validity of contact lens prescriptions with the patient’s doctor before fulfilling an order. While the FCLCA clearly allows the use of telephone, fax, or e-mail for verifying prescriptions, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has interpreted the law to also allow for robocall verification.
Robocalls have proven to be ineffective in accurately verifying contact lens prescriptions. The information relayed in these robocalls is often received by a number not belonging to a doctor of optometry or an ophthalmologist or does not align with a patient’s medical record—making it difficult, or even impossible, to correctly identify the patient and proper prescription within the current eight-hour passive verification window.
“Those who rely on contact lenses shouldn’t worry about receiving the wrong prescription because their eye doctor was unable to verify their information due to low-quality robocalls,” said Duckworth. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to protect the health of Americans who choose to wear contact lenses, so that they receive their correct prescriptions from online retailers and feel secure knowing that the contact lenses they paid for will both work and protect their eye health.”
“Contact lens users don’t need to choose between convenience and eye health with the bipartisan Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act. Our legislation will address shortfalls in the FTC rule to protect consumers’ vision while ensuring their preferred access to prescriptions continues. I’m proud to join Sen. Duckworth to support both patient safety and the health professionals providing this critical service,” said Sen. Boozman.
Passing this bill is critical in increasing the safety of the more than 45 million Americans that rely on contact lenses, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Class II and Class III regulated medical devices, for safe and effective vision correction. Improper lens usage, which can result from the substitution of lenses not prescribed by the patient’s doctor or using an outdated prescription, can lead to serious health complications, including infections and other sight-threatening conditions, such as microbial keratitis, corneal edema, ulcers, and neovascularization.
The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety is committed to closing loopholes within the existing verification process and stopping the substitution of lenses to reduce the risk of preventable vision loss.
For more information on this legislation visit congress.gov. Stay up to date on all regulatory and policy news impacting patient safety by joining the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety.
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About The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety
The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS) was founded in 2018 to advocate for patient safety and to protect and defend the doctor-patient relationship – the essential foundation of personalized health care decision making. For more information, please visit www.PatientSafetyToday.com.