On February 4th
this year, a new Federal Law called the “Fairness To Contact Lens Consumers” act
went into effect. This law made it much easier for you to enjoy the savings and
convenience of ordering on-line from Discount Contact Lenses.
What
does the law say?
The law requires your eye-doctor to release your prescription.
If you had your last eye-examination after February 4, 2004, your doctor should
have handed your prescription to you on completion of the fitting, whether
you asked for it or not.
If Discount Contact Lenses requests confirmation of your
prescription from your doctor, he/she is legally required
to confirm the prescription within 8 business hours.
If your doctor fails to respond to our request within
8 business hours, the law allows us to assume the prescription
is valid. Your doctor may NOT require you to sign any
form of release or waiver prior to confirming your prescription.
We are allowed to contact your doctor by phone, fax or
email. We generally use Fax and/or Phone to request confirmation
of prescriptions.
How
long is my prescription valid for?
A minimum of 1 year, and 2 years in
many states. Your doctor may place a shorter expiration time on your prescription,
but only if there are documented medical reasons for doing so. If
your prescription has an expiration date, you may want to ask your doctor to explain
the medical reasons he/she has placed such a restriction on your prescription.
My doctor is requiring me to return for
a follow-up visit before releasing the prescription, is this legal?
Yes.
The doctor may want to evaluate your eyes with the trial (fitting) lenses in place
prior to releasing the prescription. He/she may also require you to pay for the
fitting in full prior to releasing the prescription
My
Doctor refuses to release my prescription unless I sign something. Is this legal?
No. Your doctor may not require you to sign any form of release or waiver
prior to confirming your prescription.
