Contact lenses

This legislation will ensure the proper balance of consumer choice and the health and safety of the American public," said Whitfield.

In 2003, the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) was signed into law, allowing consumers greater access to their prescription records so they can more easily purchase Under the law, a third-party vendor must confirm the validity of a prescription with the prescribing doctor before dispensing If the doctor does not respond within the allotted time, the vendor may assume the prescription is valid and proceed with the sale.

In practice, the prescription verification requirements of the FCLCA have been routinely ignored or abused by some third-party vendors.

Many doctors cite the use of an automated telephone system that can repeatedly call eye and vision care offices with lengthy and sometimes unintelligible inquiries.

Attempts by doctors to provide important patient information in response are frequently met with busy signals, unattended voice mailboxes or incomplete or disconnec...

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