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Executive Summary
In order to determine if Texas
eye doctors are releasing contact lens prescriptions in compliance with
the Contact Lens Prescription Act, Consumers Union recently conducted
a survey in nine cities: Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston,
Laredo, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, and Tyler.
The survey showed that eye doctors are generally releasing prescriptions;
however, many are requiring patients to attend follow-up visits and/or
buy a first supply of lenses from them. These practices, and others currently
allowed under the statute, ensure that consumers face an uphill battle
if they want to shop around for the best deal in contact lenses.
- Most eye doctors now
release prescriptions, although eye doctors have created a number
of frustrating (but currently legal) barriers to the reasonable and
fair use of the prescription:
1. 57% of optometrists
would not release a prescription unless patients came back for a follow-up
visit, even if the patient had previously worn the same contact
lenses. About a third of contact lens complaints to the Texas Optometry
Board reviewed by Consumers Union involved follow-up cases where doctors
refused to release prescriptions because patients did not come back
for a follow-up exam.
2. The prohibition against faxed prescriptions prevents ready
transfer to internet or 1-800 type distributors;
3. Some eye doctors write prescriptions for the minimum period
allowed under the law (one year) regardless of the individual's history
with the lenses, and refuse prescription release if the customer has
already purchased one year's worth of lenses;
4. Some eye doctors charge customers for a "service agreement"
covering follow-up visits that ties the patient to that practitioner's
office;
5. Eye doctors are only required to give out a prescription once,
according to the Optometry Board, leaving consumers who lose their
prescriptions with no alternative but to purchase lenses from the
prescribing eye doctor; and
6. Eye doctors may refuse to release the prescription if insurance
companies are late paying a claim.
- Our survey found only two
eye doctors who would not release a prescription at all. Four additional
optometrists would not release prescriptions unless patients first bought
an initial (three or six month) supply of contact lenses from them.
Both of these practices are in direct violation of the Texas Contact
Lens Prescription Act.
- Shopping for lenses and
services saves money. The cost of an eye exam ranged from $55 to $180.
Prices for replacement boxes of contact lenses ranged from $18 to $42
for the same brand and type. Since buying lenses from the eye doctor
may cost more, consumers benefit from immediate access to their prescriptions.
When a person chooses an eye doctor, cost should not be the only factor,
of course. Finding a doctor you can trust to provide quality care at
a fair price may take time and research, but it pays off in the long
run.
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