Focus on the Eyeglass and Contact Lens Rules: The FTC’s message to prescribers

If you prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses, you must give patients copies of their prescriptions any time you perform a refraction exam. Even if the patient doesn’t ask for it. At no extra charge.

This requirement has been around for decades, and the FTC enforces it through the Ophthalmic Practice Rules, also known as the Eyeglass Rule, and the Contact Lens Rule. The rules’ vision is clear: to promote fair competition and make sure people can buy their glasses or contact lenses wherever they choose.

Despite the longstanding requirements, consumers continue to report difficulty getting their prescriptions. To remind prescribers of their obligations, today the agency announced it sent thirty-seven warning letters and one investigative closing letter to businesses covered by these rules. If you’re a prescriber, now’s the time to take a close look at the rules, keeping these tips in mind:

You can’t charge for prescription release. If you perform a refractive exam, the rules require you to write and hand over a copy of the prescription right away at no extra charge. Don’t wait for the patient to ask for the prescription or require that the patient pay for it.

Provide the prescription even if the exam is free. Prescribers that perform refractive exams must give patients copies of their prescriptions in nearly all situations. That’s true even when the exam is free or performed for a purpose other than prescribing eyeglasses.

The exception: no need for glasses? No need for a prescription. If you perform an exam and conclude that a patient doesn’t need or shouldn’t wear corrective eyewear, you don’t need to give them a prescription. But, in that case, you can’t try to sell the patient eyeglasses.

Read the guidance for more. The FTC publishes plain-language guides with answers to questions you may have. If you’re a prescriber looking for more information, make Complying with the Eyeglass Rule your first stop. And if you have questions from a patient’s perspective, check out Buying Prescription Glasses or Contact Lenses: Your Rights.

Report issues. Whether you’re a prescriber or in the market for your own corrective eyewear, if you suspect someone is violating the Eyeglass Rule or the Contact Lens Rule, the FTC wants to hear about it. Let us know at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.