optoblog.com

Since October 16, 2020 I have had to take an extra step at the end of the exam to explain to patients they they need to sign a statement saying that they received a copy of their contacts lens Rx. Firstly, some people get a bit apprehensive when asked to sign any kind of legalese- as they should. Second, the question “why?” pops up when they’ve been wearing contacts for years and never had to do this rigmarole before.

So, obviously, the Contact Lens Rule was created to punish all optometrists for the sins of a few. No doubt that online retailers were behind this. You would think the proper way to handle a complaint that your optometrist didn’t give you a finalized prescription would be to tell your state optometry board and let them correct the issue as their rules dictate. But that wasn’t good enough for the Feds, so now we live in a county where the FTC has requirements for optometrists- although the punishment for not complying isn’t spelled out clearly.

So if we’re going to take away power from the states regarding their administration of licensed professions, then let’s just be consistent and have a national optometry license and tell the states that they can take their boards and throw them in the septic tank where they also think all the optometrists belong.

Tags: 1-800, Comics, contacts, doctors, Government, patients

The 2020 triumphant return of the optoblog comic! Enjoy #28

Tags: Comics, contacts

Colored contacts are economically impossible to keep in inventory, but now it appears that the manufacturer can’t afford to even produce them.

VISTAKON announced that effective 3-31-2013 doctors will no longer have access to trials of the Acuvue colored contacts, and effective 12-31-2013 VISTAKON will no longer sell the revenue boxes of Acuvue2 Colours to doctors and distributors.

In the memo, the reason cited is “to better align our capabilities to produce more of our most popular and more innovative products, like 1-DAY ACUVUE TrueEye…1-DAY ACUVUE MOIST…and ACUVUE OASYS Brand Contact Lenses.”

Tags: Acuvue, contacts, economy

If it’s the law that I have to give them the Rx, then can it be the law that they have to keep it? Or pay for another one? Or pay to have it faxed or verified by a third party?

I have seen contact lens Rx’s on the black top of the Walmart parking lot. Can’t people at least take it home before throwing it away?

I wouldn’t be so annoyed, but lately lots of people have been asking for copies of their Rx, and every time I feel like asking, “What happened to the one I already gave you?”

I don’t get paid to fill it out the second time, you know.

Tags: Comics, contacts, doctors, Government, patients

In an e-mail today to Walmart affiliated optometrists from Dr. Chad Overman, director of professional relations, he announced in relationship to Walmart and 1800Contacts that:

“Given future diverging business interests, a decision has been made to end our relationship effective December 31, 2012”

This isn’t 1800Contacts’ first divorce. As I explained before, 1800Contacts shacked up with a regional optical in Utah, Standard Optical, a few years before their civil union with Walmart in 2008.

Dr. Overman continues:

“Even before our alliance with 1-800 Contacts, our patients have counted on us to provide them a broad assortment of contact lenses at affordable prices, and our pledge to them and you is that we will continue to do so. In the event your patients have questions, thank them for their continued trust and patronage and provide them assurance of our continuance of this commitment…
Why are we ending our relationship?
Our customers trust us to provide a broad assortment of products at everyday low prices, and we approach every business decision through this lens.”

The last few years I did enjoy how we typically get contact lens orders to patients in just two days. That’s great customer service, but I’ll bet it’s more cost expense than Walmart is willing to pay in hopes of keeping prices low. I guess we’ll go back to saying “about a week?”

Tags: 1-800, contacts, Wal-Mart, WalMart

There is a different vaccine nurse at the table in front of the V.C. every day!

I observed a guy with the biggest mustache I’ve ever beheld. Imagine walking around with a dresser comb under your nose all day. Then, later the same day I saw another guy with what is now the biggest mustache I’ve ever seen! Just think of a blond Yosimite Sam.

It is my experience that youth who have trouble with the NCT and dilation drops tend to be unsuccessful at learning to insert contact lenses. But a teenage boy surprised me recently when after 20 minutes of trying, I had him take the contacts home to practice. He returned for a followup being successful!

This week I had a day where 100% of my exams were contact lens patients! Crazy! (It’s usually ~50%.)

Tags: @optotrician, contacts

When I went to renew my Utah optometrist license, I was greeted with this pop up:

Since my photo is grainy, it says,

“Under Utah law a contact lens prescription expiration date shall be two years from the commencement date unless documented medical reasons require otherwise.”

Here is the excerpt from the Utah Code regarding “Contact lens prescription”:

58-16a-102. Definitions.
(3)
(b) A prescription may include:
(i) a limit on the quantity of lenses that may be ordered under the prescription if required for medical reasons documented in the patient’s files; and
(ii) the expiration date of the prescription, which shall be two years from the commencement date, unless documented medical reasons require otherwise.

I would say it is pretty standard practice to make youth Rx’s one year, but my advice to other Utah eye doctors would be to make sure you have a check box in your chart documenting how the youth’s Rx is still changing which requires yearly monitoring, history of eye infections and need to yearly monitor eye health, etc.

I am not exactly sure when this law came into effect, but I have known about it since 2006 after I moved to Utah. From intermittent observation of outside Rx’s brought in to my vision center or patients coming in for an exam, I would say about half of the area eye doctors know about this law. Either ignorance or they document every little thing as an excuse to yearly monitor contacts. I don’t want to slight The Vision Council’s campaign of “Check Yearly. See Clearly.” but the law is the law.

What would you say is sufficient medical reason to change an adult’s contact lens Rx to less than two years?

1. Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis? What would you change before two years after recommending Pataday/Alaway, ClearCare, and daily disposable during the worst weeks?
2. Contact lens-related dryness? What would you change before two years after recommending Oasys/Biofinty and ClearCare/Optifree PureMoist and Refresh Contacts?
3. Mild corneal neovascularization? What would you change before two years after recommending a silicone-hydrogel, adhere to manufacturer replacement schedule, and no overnight wear?

I would be careful because if you get too knit-picky, your patients will go elsewhere for exams.

Tags: contacts, doctors, Government, law, optometrist, Organized Optometry, patients

I just got word that Ciba will discontinue O2Optix soft contact lenses. The time line appears to be:

• 7-1-2011 Doctors will no longer get trials for O2Optix
• 1-1-2011 Product availability not guaranteed
• 7-1-2012 O2Optix lens discontinued.

Ciba has been pushing strongly the one month replacement modality which flies in the face of the two week replacement schedule philosophy of their competitor, Vistakon. Ciba’s recommended alternative for those who have been in O2Optix lenses is to have their doctor refit them in Air Optix Aqua.

Tags: contacts, optometrist, patients, Wal-Mart

UPDATE 2-26-2011: Ciba and Walmart came to an agreement, and ClearCare will soon be available at your nearest Walmart very soon if it’s not there already.

Walmart will sell out their existing stock of ClearCare, but won’t be reordering more. Here’s from the memo dated 1-24-2011:

• Jan 1, 2001 Ciba Vision has incorporated a substantial cost increase to their Clear Care items throughout the industry.
• We take any and all cost increases very seriously especially if the supplier is unable to justify the significant increase completely.
• In the interest of our customers, we will not carry Clear Care until this matter is resolved.

They go on to suggest that the V.C. associates can ask the Doctor Partners to recommend a suitable alternative product.

Isn’t this what happened to Rubbermaid?

Tags: CL Solutions, contacts, optometrist, patients, Wal-Mart

I got a memo from Walmart Health & Wellness Ocular Wellness Team on 10-22-2010:

Effective October 21, 2010, Bausch and Lomb will halt the shipment of the Renu Sensitive care kit as they take a different approach to the Renu product in the market

An evaluation will be made in Q2 2011 and a decision will be made at that time as to it (sic) whether or not the shipments will resume.

When I got the Renu Sensitive starter kits a few months ago I was kind of wondering what the deal was. I mean, if I were a patient I’d be wondering, “Why does the same company offer three competing brands of contact lens multi-purpose solution: Renu Fresh (formerly MultiPlus), Renu Sensitive, and BioTrue?”

See also my entry about the ingredients of the common soft contact lens care systems.

I think the label “sensitive” is a complete marketing gimmick. Someone has dryness or redness with their contacts, so instead of asking their eye doctor, their first impulse is to look in the contact lens solution isle and think, “Yah, my eyes are sensitive, so I’ll buy the product that says ‘sensitive’ on it.”

Tags: CL Solutions, contacts