September 21, 2020
Vision Monday - In an effort to offset language in the FTC’s updated Contact Lens Rule, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) last week introduced in the U.S. Senate the Contact Lens Rule Modernization Act, which would eliminate the use of robocalls to verify contact lens prescriptions, according to a statement by the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (APS). The bill, which APS endorsed, is co-sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The FTC’s new rule for contact lenses and the corresponding requirements for ECPs is set to take effect Oct. 17.
In addition to eliminating the use of robocalls to verify CL prescriptions, the bill removes burdensome paperwork requirements for patients and providers, instead giving eyecare practices the ability to notify patients of key rights regarding their contact lens prescriptions through methods like in-office signage that have been adopted in California, according to the APS statement.