Dear Colleague,
I need your help this month. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing regulation that will negatively impact all of us who prescribe contact lenses. Now is the period of public comment, and the FTC has provided an easy to use portal for direct response, including a method of uploading a letter. I thank all of you who have already responded to this action alert, but we need everyone. As you can imagine, if doctors sit on the sidelines the FTC will assume we don’t mind what they want to do to us. The COA and AOA are working together in official channels in communicating with the FTC, but nothing beats the influence of hundreds of letters from individuals who are fired up about an issue.
Please get fired up, and please upload your personal comment!
Steve Minie, President
Action alert: Burdensome contact lens rule proposed
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a new rule that requires anyone who prescribes contact lenses to obtain a signed patient acknowledgement after releasing a contact lens prescription, and must keep it on file for at least 3 years.
The FTC has solicited public comments on this proposal through Jan. 30, 2017, after which time regulators will consider posting a final rule or revised proposal at a future date. This is an opportunity for doctors to speak out against the misguided proposal.
Doctors are encouraged to provide their comments directly to the FTC by clicking here, and doctors can access a sample message to let FTC officials know where optometry stands.
Click here to submit private comments about the FTC proposal to the AOA, or report illegal sales practices of internet contact lens sellers. If you have any questions, please contact AOA’s Associate Director of Coding & Regulatory Policy Kara Webb or COA’s Governmental Affairs Director Kristine Shultz.
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