(WASHINGTON) – The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS) today applauded the House and Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittees for calling for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce the Contact Lens Rule’s prescription verification process.

The Senate FSGG report states:

Contact Lenses. – The Committee supports maintaining long-standing regulation and oversight of the contact lens marketplace but remains concerned about patient safety gaps not addressed in the recently finalized Contact Lens Rule. The Committee encourages the Commission to enforce the Rule’s verification requirements, particularly related to new online market entrants.

The House FSGG report states:

Contact Lenses. – The Committee supports maintaining long-standing regulation and oversight of the contact lens marketplace in the recently finalized Contact Lens Rule. The Committee supports the Commission’s efforts to enforce the Rule’s verification requirements, particularly related to new online market entrants.

The Senate FSGG report can be read here and the House FSGG report can be read here.

The Committees’ reports come as the Contact Lens Verification Modernization Act, which has been introduced in both the House and Senate, continues to build bipartisan momentum. The Senate bill can be viewed here and the House bill can be viewed here.

Dr. David Cockrell, OD, Chairman of HCAPS stated, “The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS) appreciates the attention from both the House and Senate regarding dangers posed to a patient’s eye health and safety through the failure of contact lens retailers to properly verify a contact lens prescription. The unfortunate reality is that the use of improper contact lenses or of contact lenses not prescribed by a doctor can lead to devastating, vision-threatening health events. These adverse vision health outcomes are completely preventable with a verification process that enables a doctor to easily correct errors or inaccuracies in the patient’s prescription. As the House and Senate continue calling on the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the prescription verification process, HCAPS and our bipartisan patient safety champions will continue working to modernize and enhance the verification process through the passage of the Contact Lens Prescription Modernization Act.”

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