Not to bring up a subject thats already been beaten to death but i couldnt find an answer with the search so i figured i'd ask on here to get all beaten up over it
why is it that online GLASSES retailers aren't required to verify RX's like contact lenses? glasses RX's have an expiration too? just curious
"what i need is a strong drink and a peer group." ... Douglas Adams - Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
to begin with , for the most part they do not a bide by any applicable laws and would be considered illegal by most regulatory bodies , so if they are mostly illegal anyhow then why would you expect them to abide by any local applicable laws such as verifying an RX ? It is not as if they had a conscience .Originally Posted by becc971
Not to bring up a subject thats already been beaten to death but i couldnt find an answer with the search so i figured i'd ask on here to get all beaten up over it
why is it that online GLASSES retailers aren't required to verify RX's like contact lenses? glasses RX's have an expiration too? just curious
True ttrue.
"what i need is a strong drink and a peer group." ... Douglas Adams - Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
Personally, I take the so-called "expiration date" with a grain of salt. I know of folks whose Rx changes every 4-6 months, OTH, mine hasn't changed in almost 10 years.
The Rx expiration date on a eyeglass Rx serves the same purpose as that on a contact lens Rx. The pt is to come back not nessarly to check to see if only the power has changed. Its there to motivate the pt to come in to have the health of the eyes looked at so that any preventive action may be started early.
I agree, I have had many disagreements with patients wanting to us an expired prescription. The only reason I don't is because I would get in trouble. I don't see the problem in making glasses of a prescription that expired a month ago. I understand the reasoning is for them to get an exam.
If that's the reason, then don't put an expiration date on the Rx. Use a recall service instead, like dentists do.
Absolutely. But if their vision has not changed, then it is pointless to require another exam. Just my opinion, of course ;-)
"Pointless" oh my! So you dont beleive in glaucoma? Your saying that its "pointless" to have the health of the eye checked on occasion?
Bet you are one of those who will let the oil run low in your car before you check it right. Just wait for the light to come on :)
I understand the danger of not checking a corneas health with contacts but I think the eyeglass expiration is silly.
I can read an old pairs rx and duplicate it in a new pair but I can't use the new rx that's a month past the expiration?
Silly.
BTW I don't think it is illegal anywhere to fill an expired rx. You may open yourself up to liability issues the the prescriber could argue is not their problem but as I like to say- If you're going to sue me you're going to have to go to the back of the line and wait your turn!
I believe in glaucoma and in many of the other eye diseases rampant around the world. I just don't believe that putting an expiration date on a prescription for a pair of eye glasses is going to solve the problem of getting the patient back into the office for a check up. Patients who are at risk of eye diseases such as glaucoma already know the problems attendant and know that they should get routine checkups.
It is my opinion that it is a far better idea to use a recall system to bring patients back into the office for routine exams than it is to put a phoney expiration date on an Rx.
And since I own an older car (1989 Lincoln Town Car, aka the "pimpmobile"), I know almost to the mile when it's time to put in another quart.
On line opticals act like a regular optical lab. They are given an Rx and they fill it............but instead of sending it to an B&M retailer they send it direct to the consumer who gave the order and paid out front.
No optical lab ever questions the validity of an RX and never has, since they exist, they just do it. The optical retailer in a regulated state has the responsibility to verify that the Rx is made as ordered. It looks like that in unregulated states it is a free for all.
I have made a pretty good search on complaints about on-line quality on the internet, but they seem to have stopped about 2 years ago. I could not find any recent ones.
I guess you have to live with it, as for no government is looking into the situation, not even in Canada which is just about all regulated with the exception of British Columbia which recently got de-regulated.
Most states have no laws on eyeglass expiration. Eyeglass Rx's don't fall under the same rules (laws) as pharma Rx's. Ever notice how every OD puts an expiration on an Rx but almost no OMD's do? Why do you think that is?
wow i am speechless.... I just can't believe there are opticians here who thinks expiration date on a prescription is silly.... wow...
I lost a friend of mine who was an optician because of a brain tumor. If only she had her routine eye exam on time which was past due for only a year she would have been alive now.
I hope so called opticians like some of you here won't lose a family member or a close friend to realize the importance of routine eye exam. If there is no expiration date on the prescription most people won't go to have their eyes checked because they just see "fine".... And most opticians will be out of business because patients will keep wearing the same frame and lenses for years....
I do remember years ago at LC there was a patient hopping mad that we could not refill his expired rx. HAD to have an eye exam. He returned thanking everyone because they spotted a brain tumor. We have to have laws to protect people from themselves sometimes.
I have had the same experience twice at LC. One of them was an employee friend who didn't make it out of the surgery. The other one was a customer who survived the surgery at Stanford and doing great.
So, using this reasoning, then *every* patient who is given an eye exam should be given an Rx with an expiration date...and*especially* if the are PLANO!
Gatekeeping this way doesn't add up in my mind.
B
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
I'm all for the concept of routine eye exams to determine the health of the eye and potentially find tumors like your friend suffered. I disagree that requiring them through the coercion of an expired refraction is how to do it.
True story from an optician very close to me- A women is rushed to the hospital in critical condition from a stroke. Her only pair of glasses are missing. Patient services asks the optical department to make her a new pair so she can see her family members if she regains consciousness. Call to the OD gets a stern rebuke that it can only be released if she fills out a request. Release of Rx denied...
We need laws to protect us from our own regulators which would give us quick & simplified Small Claims Court or Superior Court access to sue them under simplified rules for inaction and neglect to deal with these matters.
Again, I agree with Fester for the same reasons..
But hey, I'm just a so called optician, what do I know?
Tell me about emmetropic folks now. And answer my question about "whom" puts expirations on Rx's and why.
A small few but some of the more agressive (read greedy) OMD's do put expiration dates on Rx's. The same ones that put UV on the Rx, including reading glasses. I might mention that I have never seen either on an Rx from an OMD who didn't have his own dispensary.
Chip
Yes Barry they should. Us that call ourselves "trained" "educated" and a professional in this field assume the dutys as the "gate keepers" weather we like it or not. If we do not do that and a patient falls throught the crack in some way they will be the first person to call you on it. You the gate keeper.So, using this reasoning, then *every* patient who is given an eye exam should be given an Rx with an expiration date...and*especially* if the are PLANO!
Gatekeeping this way doesn't add up in my mind.
B
I agree we should not have to be the ones to protect people from theirselves it really really really ****'s me off big time that we have to do that. But if we dont then they will try to get their hands into our pockets in some form.
So Barry you need to figure out how to wrap your mind around and embrace that.
[QUOTE=GokhanSF;433818]wow i am speechless.... I just can't believe there are opticians here who thinks expiration date on a prescription is silly.... wow...
I lost a friend of mine who was an optician because of a brain tumor. If only she had her routine eye exam on time which was past due for only a year she would have been alive now.
I hope so called opticians like some of you here won't lose a family member or a close friend to realize the importance of routine eye exam. If there is no expiration date on the prescription most people won't go to have their eyes checked because they just see "fine"....
Many people also won't go to the dentist if their teeth aren't actively bothering them, but that doesn't mean that infection and cavities aren't developing. The dental profession has not yet found a way to coerce people in for exams; it's the individual's opportunity to schedule and arrive at his or her appointment. I rather think that the optical profession is unique in that respect, and it has never sat right with me. Go and have your eyes checked, yes; it is medically necessary. But to put arbitrary dates on a "prescription" that may not expire for years, or may expire tomorrow, for the sole purpose of forcing people into exams is just... not kosher, in my opinion.
So it's unethical to allow patients not to come in for routine exams, but perfectly ethical to make them come in just to make sure you don't lose money, regardless of whether or not that prescription is still working just fine for the patient?And most opticians will be out of business because patients will keep wearing the same frame and lenses for years....
Here's an idea: More clearly delineate between refraction and the medical portion of the exam. Prescription working out? No need for refraction; just have a quick medical check on occular health.
THAT'S LUNACY! Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Once we made a pair of glasses for a -12.00 who was in jail (traffic fines I'm sure). Poor guy was in there for a week w/o ANYTHING! Can you imagine how scary that was???
While I'm sad that some of you have lost acquantances to brain tumors, using extortion techniques to force a person back into the office through the use of a phony baloney so-called "expiration date" on a spectacle prescription.
If you were truly honest with yourselves, you would see that a pre-printed "expires in 1 year" note on the form is not a one size fits all. Some patients need shorter times. Most don't - and are just fine even two years out.
And why is it always "1 year" or "2 years"? Who decided that?
The dental profession has made great strides in using a recall system along with followup post cards and phone calls. It costs a bit more in postage and office staff time, however, at least for the dentist I use, he sees close to a 65% success with his system, far better than the usual 25% or less.
"Oh, no, that's too expensive. I'll just keep the phony baloney expiration date on my forms and leave it at that."
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