1-800 Contacts, the largest retailer of contact lenses in the U.S., wants the estimated 45 million Americans who wear contact lenses to understand their new consumer rights granted in the final Contact Lens Rule (CLR) which becomes effective today.
Through a bipartisan and unanimous ruling, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) strengthened consumers’ access to their prescriptions for contacts. The CLR secured several key provisions proposed by the FTC, most notably it now requires prescribers to confirm that a patient received their contact lens prescription. Prescribers must also maintain documented proof that they followed this requirement for at least three years. With this change, prescribers are now accountable to assure access for patients’ own vision prescription.
With automatic prescription release, consumers are guaranteed the opportunity to comparison shop for contact lenses. Prior to the CLR, prescribers were not automatically releasing prescriptions to their patients, thus limiting customers’ choice. Consumers will no longer be pressured to purchase contacts directly from their doctor’s office. Consumers can now select a contact lens retailer based on their preference – price, product selection, convenience, or any other factor.
The FTC is dedicated to protecting consumer rights, and its support of the CLR is another example of this commitment. Since 2004, the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) has mandated prescription release requirements for eye doctors. The updated CLR will now provide meaningful enforcement of these requirements, ensuring consumer choice is put ahead of prescriber profits.
“The Contact Lens Rule is incredibly important not just for consumers but for the continued modernization of the vision industry,” said John Graham, CEO of 1-800 Contacts. “It’s essential that consumers are guaranteed access to their prescriptions, as has been the case in general healthcare for many years. From the very beginning, 1-800 Contacts has created new ways for consumers to purchase contact lenses by providing innovation that forced the contact lens industry to evolve into one that puts consumers first.”
About 1-800 Contacts
1-800 Contacts is the original disruptor of the vision industry. The brand is well-known for efficient, high-quality, and delightful customer service and has advocated relentlessly on behalf of customers, paving the way for a new generation of DTC brands. 1-800 Contacts is the largest seller of contact lenses in the U.S., serving more than 20 million customers for the last 25 years. The growing portfolio of innovative 1-800 Contacts brands includes Liingo Eyewear, 6over6, Boomerang, and Premium Vision.
You can read the release here.