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Some
Office Policies Limit Prescription Access to Whole Classes of People
Mrs.
K., from Longview, Texas, took her son to get contacts. When she arrived
at the doctor's office, staff instructed her to read a binder with several
pages outlining 'Soft Contact Lens Care and Handling' and restrictions
on releasing contact lens prescriptions. According to his own materials,
this eye doctor refuses to release prescriptions to new patients in general,
as well as consumers with a wide array of physical conditions including
cancer, high blood pressure, depression, ulcers, and many more. He also
refuses to release a prescription unless the "2-week Fitting Follow-up
Visit Fee of $20" has been paid. Mrs. K was asked to sign the papers
acknowledging that she had received and understood this information.
Mrs. K.'s son was examined by the doctor and afterwards she bought contact
lenses. After two months, one of the contact lens fell apart in her son's
hand when he was cleaning it. When Mrs. K. called the office to inquire
about the poor condition of the lens, the staff said there was no warranty
on them. She then purchased a replacement lens from the office. After
that, two more lenses fell apart.
Mrs. K. decided to buy her son's lenses somewhere else. She called the
office and requested her son's contact lens prescription. The receptionist
told her that the prescription could not be released because her son had
not returned for his follow-up visit, even though the staff initially
told her he had to return only if he had problems. Mrs. K. did not schedule
the follow-up visit because her son was not having problems, so she reminded
the receptionist of this initial conversation.
The receptionist then told her that they had a 3-month period to request
the prescription and that time period had passed. According to a notation
hand written on the "Soft Contact Lens Care and Handling" contract,
this eye doctor's office requires the follow-up visit to occur within
three months, and if a consumer does not return during that period the
office will not complete the fitting and provide the prescription. However,
the office would sell her additional lenses.
Eye doctors who set out blanket procedures that limit access to a prescription
for all patients who have certain conditions, all new patients, or patients
who do not return for follow-up within a set time, violate the intent
of the Contact Lens Prescription Act. The Act gave flexibility to doctors
to allow them to conform their prescription policy to the health needs
of individual patients-not set blanket rules for everyone.
Mrs. K. took her son to another optometrist in Longview. This doctor's
office called the previous eye doctor's office and requested a copy of
the prescription. The original office said they did not have the prescription.
Mrs. K. had to pay for a second eye exam for her son. This complaint was
still pending before the Optometry Board at the time Consumers Union reviewed
it.
TOB complaint #00113, August 28, 2000.
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