Return policy on Contact Lenses?

[Aarlan]

hello all,

I have something I'd like to run by a few of you.

We have an independent OD that comes in a few days a week to do routine exams and contact lens fits (and we normally supply the contact lenses). Recently we had a woman who has worn cibasoft visitint for years. Wanted to change to colored contacts. Doctor switched her to durasoft 3 colors opaque. Patient is complaining of comfort (OS only). She wanted to return them after 2 weeks and brought them in a flat pack storage case. I asked where the original vials were, and she said she no longer had them. I told her that w/out the original vials we were stuck. "NO ONE TOLD ME I NEEDED TO KEEP THE VIALS!" she responded.

Am I out of touch with reality to expect them to be returned in it's original packaging (as virtually every other product on earth must be upon return/exchange)?

What policy, if any do you have for return of yearly lenses? We have a set policy with RGPs, but nothing for soft lenses, since 99% of lenses we sell are disposable or planned replacement, and the final fit is verified w/ trials.

Thanks for any input.

AA

[efsamuel]

We hold onto the vials. One person does the CL's anyway and since the vial type are not as common it is not as big a deal.

[Jubilee]

We keep the vials as well.

I was also told the that the D3 Opaques are not returnable. The last set I ordered cost mucho dinero and I was told by the distributor that they could not be returned.. only exchanged if found defective on arrival...

Cassandra

[Framebender]

On D3's pt signs that they know they are owners and the Dr must see them at dispense.

[fjpod]

Never dispense the vials. I guess I am old school, but all vialed lenses and RGPs should be opened and verified before dispensing. Would you dispense glasses that way? Hand them to the patient in a closed container without inspecting them or looking at them on the patients eye? These lenses are individually made, for the most part. They should not only be verified from the factory package, but, in my opinion, on the patients eye. Yes, it takes more time. Dispensing contacts involves more than just handing the bottles to the patient.

Disposable lenses are made in batches, so it's not necessary to verify each and every lens. But they should be looked at while on the eye every six months.

Fitting fees on disposables are refundable if the patient is not happy within 30 days. Custom lenses have a non-refundable portion of $150.

I tell all non-tinted lens patients, that if they switch to opaque lenses, they can expect less comfort, and the lenses are not returnable. I let them wear a trial pair in the office for as long as necessary. Discomfort with the Durasoft opques is common and it varies from one vialed lens to another. The problem is not as bad with the Fresh Looks.

[Aarlan]

Never dispense the vials. I guess I am old school, but all vialed lenses and RGPs should be opened and verified before dispensing. . They should not only be verified from the factory package, but, in my opinion, on the patients eye. Yes, it takes more time. Dispensing contacts involves more than just handing the bottles to the patient.

.

Patient is handed the vials to go into the fitting room to insert lenses in order to have Dr check centration, mvmnt, etc before the patient leaves. I am fairly certain the doctor does not inspect the soft lenses visually (other than to verify specs, BC/diam/lens type) until the patient is wearing them upon dispense. But we haven't in the past kept the vials (but we will now).
RGPs are another story since they should be inspected and verified, but our doctor doesn't let any RGPs out the door until she's looked at the fit on the eye.

AA

[chip anderson]

I had a doctor give up contact lens fitting and give me his practice. He had things set up where the patient's were acoustomed to getting a new pair of vial lenses every six-months to yearly. He gave them to the patient in vials. Patients often came in with unopened spair vials when they had Rx changes. Even worse they kept thier old lenses in the vial thier new lenses came in unsealed and unsterilzed. Of course, if they lost/damaged a lens they took the old one out and wore it. It was a nightmare.

Perhaps no one has noticed but where the whole contact lens business fell apart (Wally-Mart and 1-800) was when disposables came out and the damn package was marked with the specifications. If the patient didn't have the vial or anything else with the specifications, they had no problem with contacting you for replacements and/or when they had a problem. Now we have the skills, equipment and expertise and we can't make a living.

Perhaps this is why I loved fitting PMMA lenses, I hand finished and edged every one and even if I gave someone else the specifications, they could never duplicate the fit or comfort.

Chip

[chip anderson]

Fjpod:

I think one of the reasons Mfg.'s started the silly wet shipment of rigid lenses was to prevent thier being bothered by troublesome accounts that actually check thier lenses before dispensing (Heaven forbid!) I mean we all know that wonderfull juice they are in imparts some sort of magical comfort that last for X amount of time after dispensing don't we? And we just knows that lenses in that wonderful juice won't warp like other RGP's stored wet for long periods of time without being worn don't we?

Chip:cheers:

[Stephanie Yee]

We pretty much always hold onto the CL vials as well. If the patient insists on taking it, we make it a point to inform them that should the CL need to be returned for any reason, it must be sent back in the original vial within 30 days of purchase.

[fjpod]

I had a doctor give up contact lens fitting and give me his practice. He had things set up where the patient's were acoustomed to getting a new pair of vial lenses every six-months to yearly. He gave them to the patient in vials. Patients often came in with unopened spair vials when they had Rx changes. Even worse they kept thier old lenses in the vial thier new lenses came in unsealed and unsterilzed. Of course, if they lost/damaged a lens they took the old one out and wore it. It was a nightmare.

Perhaps no one has noticed but where the whole contact lens business fell apart (Wally-Mart and 1-800) was when disposables came out and the damn package was marked with the specifications. If the patient didn't have the vial or anything else with the specifications, they had no problem with contacting you for replacements and/or when they had a problem. Now we have the skills, equipment and expertise and we can't make a living.

Perhaps this is why I loved fitting PMMA lenses, I hand finished and edged every one and even if I gave someone else the specifications, they could never duplicate the fit or comfort.

Chip

I guess I'm sounding like one of the old guys, but I can't believe people actually dispense lenses, unopened in the vial. First off, FDA requires that all contacts be dispensed along with a suitable disinfection method.. Secondly, all prescriptions, glasses or CLs should be verified before dispensing. Thirdly the fit and performance of the Rx should be verified upon dispensing. That's what DISPENSING is!

While we don't evaluate each and every disposable lens, the fit and performance should be monitored at each dispensing, which means that when a CL Rx expires, the patient has to be rechecked before re-dispensing.

It's amazing how many people SELL contact lenses instead of DISPENSING them.

[fjpod]

Patient is handed the vials to go into the fitting room. AA

Call me old fashioned, but I don't let the patient touch the vial. The vial is opened for them, in front of them. They put the lens on, then the fit and prescription is checked. The vials, with lot numbers go into storage for defective return and recall purposes.

[drk]

A simple solution is to never, never fit vialed lenses! Heaven help any patient who wears a vialed lens, especially the mah-velous former WJ lenses.

I understand that some custom lenses are necessary, though. I had a great staff member give me this idea:

We have a job tray with the Month written on the nameplate. We put everything in that job tray: flat packs from RGP's, vials from custom lenses (and for that matter, patient's old spectacle lenses if they use their frame, and even demo lenses from frames sold). We keep that tray for 90 days, which is the return period for most manufacturers. When we start a new tray, we dump the oldest tray.

Works great for us!