Fare Trade Commission 456.2 =- Disclaimer on eyeglass prescriptions

[Lori]

Hi everyone, first-time poster here...

My question; Has anyone come up with a disclaimer added to the RX, given to the patient, that falls within the legal guidelines of the Fair Trade code listed below;(456.2)? As we all know, competition is stiff and more people are price shopping. We have no issue with this per say, however, this presents an increase in problems associated with lens quality, measurements etc. that are bought from Walmart and Costco etc. Patients come in after purchase with problems and expect me to figure it all out; check the measurements on the lens, the RX, the patients measurement, the BC, induced prism etc. I work for two ophthalmologists and we are busy and I consider customer service my main attraction so I feel obliged to help out however it is becoming quite time consuming for me to do all this follow-up work. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks so much.

I've included part of the code. If you wish to read it in its entirety it can be found online.

Section 456.2(d) prohibits eye care practitioners from placing on an eyeglass prescription, requiring a patient to sign, or delivering to a patient, any waiver or disclaimer of liability for the accuracy of the eye examination or the accuracy of the ophthalmic goods and services dispensed by another seller. Section 456.2(d) was originally promulgated because disclaimers “may have the effect of making consumers erroneously believe that other dispensers are not qualified to dispense their eyeglasses and discouraging consumers from shopping around.” [43]

[Lelarep]

Sounds like their justification for that legislation is one huge cow pie.

[Paul Smith LDO]

Hi everyone, first-time poster here...

My question; Has anyone come up with a disclaimer added to the RX, given to the patient, that falls within the legal guidelines of the Fair Trade code listed below;(456.2)? As we all know, competition is stiff and more people are price shopping. We have no issue with this per say, however, this presents an increase in problems associated with lens quality, measurements etc. that are bought from Walmart and Costco etc. Patients come in after purchase with problems and expect me to figure it all out; check the measurements on the lens, the RX, the patients measurement, the BC, induced prism etc. I work for two ophthalmologists and we are busy and I consider customer service my main attraction so I feel obliged to help out however it is becoming quite time consuming for me to do all this follow-up work. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks so much.

I've included part of the code. If you wish to read it in its entirety it can be found online.

Section 456.2(d) prohibits eye care practitioners from placing on an eyeglass prescription, requiring a patient to sign, or delivering to a patient, any waiver or disclaimer of liability for the accuracy of the eye examination or the accuracy of the ophthalmic goods and services dispensed by another seller. Section 456.2(d) was originally promulgated because disclaimers “may have the effect of making consumers erroneously believe that other dispensers are not qualified to dispense their eyeglasses and discouraging consumers from shopping around.” [43]

Fragmentation of services, what was done at your local; the exam. Trial frame the Rx, if the patient is happy with the prescription as it was written your responsibility ends there, period. It is not your place to say anything about the lenses, material, the staff where the Rx was filled, frame selection and etc. There is no disclaimer, the FTC, is clear about that.
If the patient elects to go elsewhere, the responsibility of trouble shooting falls upon the entity who took their money in exchange for goods and services. The time you spend trouble shooting someone else's work, is time spent away from servicing YOUR customers.
If this doesn't help, have a hand-out available to your patients that explain where your obligations and services begin and end.

[Chris Ryser]

Hi everyone, first-time poster here...

I work for two ophthalmologists and we are busy and I consider customer service my main attraction so I feel obliged to help out however it is becoming quite time consuming for me to do all this follow-up work. Any suggestions are appreciated!

[43]

Set up a paper stating and hand it to them, that on the glasses you sell all the after sale service is included, in the price of the glasses.

However that if they want service on products purchased anywhere else they will have to pay for the time spent to solve problems at the rate of $ .......... . for your time.

[drk]

What Chris said.

It's a new revenue stream...fixing patients' dumbassery by (as Paul so eloquently stated) fragmenting their care.

Hey, they left for a reason...save them some money! How's that working out for them?

Charge a set amount or per unit time. I'd just set a charge. Something fair, and not $5-10. Something like $40-60.

[Paul Smith LDO]

What Chris said.

It's a new revenue stream...fixing patients' dumbassery by (as Paul so eloquently stated) fragmenting their care.

Hey, they left for a reason...save them some money! How's that working out for them?

Charge a set amount or per unit time. I'd just set a charge. Something fair, and not $5-10. Something like $40-60.

Here is the issue that I had when I charged 60.00 for trouble shooting someone else's work; the patient wanted a work-up sheet listing all the problems that I found. The problem; I only heard one side of the conversation, the place they went to doesn't have an optician, they only sell 3 types of PAL's; good, gooder, and goodest, and lastly they used the right Rx so it can't be their fault.

How you've got a ****** off patient because they spent 60.00 and their issue hasn't been resolved and they are back demanding satisfaction. The problem is that the fabrication of prescriptions is up to one's interpretation. Materials, measurements, designs, experience, interview with the patient, and a host of others.

[Don Gilman]

Here is the issue that I had when I charged 60.00 for trouble shooting someone else's work; the patient wanted a work-up sheet listing all the problems that I found. The problem; I only heard one side of the conversation, the place they went to doesn't have an optician, they only sell 3 types of PAL's; good, gooder, and goodest, and lastly they used the right Rx so it can't be their fault.

How you've got a ****** off patient because they spent 60.00 and their issue hasn't been resolved and they are back demanding satisfaction. The problem is that the fabrication of prescriptions is up to one's interpretation. Materials, measurements, designs, experience, interview with the patient, and a host of others.

Do all these, write up your findings, good, bad, and give the summary to the patient, maybe nothings wrong and he/she husband/wife/partner doesn't like the frame. State the facts, don't try to be a psychologist.

[optical24/7]

. State the facts, don't try to be a psychologist.

Or.......Tell them they can't see because they secretly hate their mother...

[Paul Smith LDO]

Or.......Tell them they can't see because they secretly hate their mother...

Norman!?, Norman!?, is that you Norman!​

[dv]

I am having the same issue and was about to post the question myself. I guess it is much more common than I thought. An dhere I thought I was being too much of a softy by doing it all. Glad to know I can't legally say what I want to, LOL. I can easily spend 30 min or more troubleshooting a patients issue, all in the name of customer satisfaction-to prove its not our fault. I have even had patients purchase elsewhere then on the day they are dispensed their glasses immediately come to me for me to make sure they are made properly. Can we give them a disclaimer that any questions regarding the work done elsewhere will come at a charge to them with the exception of the need for a LEGITIMATE rX CHANGE. Thing is I am the only person in the optical-manage, dispense and 10 other hats worn here as well. Spending time to explain to a patient that the reason they cant read with their progressives simply because someone else didnt take the time to adjust the frame and its sliding down to the tip of their nose. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Its a waste of my time and the patients time.

[dv]

It does mention that your practice is not liable for the ophthalmic goods and services that another seller has dispensed. So you can say in writing: The person who dispenses your eyeglasses is responsible for their accuracy.

I think another thing to point out is that whatever options are offered and ordered for the patient are also the responsibility of the dispenser and the patient. I have had a patient get angry at us for the fact that her glasses were made bifocal. We explained to her that that was a decision made by her and whomever she ordered her glasses with. She wanted to blame us for writing a prescription with her distance and near powers on it. Stating the other place made them according to the prescription. We explained to her that in the end it is her decision on how she makes her glasses. A decision made between her and her dispenser. All the prescription has on it is her measurements, nothing else. She wasn't satisfied with that and ended up bad mouthing us online.

[drk]

We won't troubleshoot outside glasses, either. Not even their "old pair". Waste of time.

If someone has a problem with their treatment being provided elsewhere, we will check the prescription we wrote for accuracy, and that's that.

So far, I haven't had enough that I need to charge for the recheck, but that's probably going to happen if we start seeing all these patients all the time.

[mervinek]

I have had a patient get angry at us for the fact that her glasses were made bifocal. We explained to her that that was a decision made by her and whomever she ordered her glasses with. She wanted to blame us for writing a prescription with her distance and near powers on it. Stating the other place made them according to the prescription. We explained to her that in the end it is her decision on how she makes her glasses. A decision made between her and her dispenser. All the prescription has on it is her measurements, nothing else. She wasn't satisfied with that and ended up bad mouthing us online.

??? That's crazy. Agreed. Write the Rx so all the information is there and the patient/dispenser can make the decision of what to order.

[Tallboy]

It does mention that your practice is not liable for the ophthalmic goods and services that another seller has dispensed. So you can say in writing: The person who dispenses your eyeglasses is responsible for their accuracy.

I think another thing to point out is that whatever options are offered and ordered for the patient are also the responsibility of the dispenser and the patient. I have had a patient get angry at us for the fact that her glasses were made bifocal. We explained to her that that was a decision made by her and whomever she ordered her glasses with. She wanted to blame us for writing a prescription with her distance and near powers on it. Stating the other place made them according to the prescription. We explained to her that in the end it is her decision on how she makes her glasses. A decision made between her and her dispenser. All the prescription has on it is her measurements, nothing else. She wasn't satisfied with that and ended up bad mouthing us online.

Sounds like an absolutely LOVELY woman.

[Paul Smith LDO]

It does mention that your practice is not liable for the ophthalmic goods and services that another seller has dispensed. So you can say in writing: The person who dispenses your eyeglasses is responsible for their accuracy.

I think another thing to point out is that whatever options are offered and ordered for the patient are also the responsibility of the dispenser and the patient. I have had a patient get angry at us for the fact that her glasses were made bifocal. We explained to her that that was a decision made by her and whomever she ordered her glasses with. She wanted to blame us for writing a prescription with her distance and near powers on it. Stating the other place made them according to the prescription. We explained to her that in the end it is her decision on how she makes her glasses. A decision made between her and her dispenser. All the prescription has on it is her measurements, nothing else. She wasn't satisfied with that and ended up bad mouthing us online.

This is exactly what I meant by, "one's interpretation of the written Rx". The patient/customer is under the impression that the administering office is responsible for diagnosing any issue that may arise with their decision to seek out and fragment their care.

[dv]

So are our hands tied as to how we can let them know of the reality? We can't write it as a footnote of sorts on the back of the Rx or something? I wasted so much time with her trying to make her understand there was nothing we could do about how her glasses were made elsewhere or the decisions they made. So she literally blasted me specifically for telling her what she obviously didn't want to hear. I have a reputation that has patients coming from other offices to make their glasses with me, Some from up to 3 hours away. So for her to question my customer service was a slap in the face to say the least. The doc of course was incredulous of her claims which she not only put online but also wrote in a letter addressed to him . Silver lining: anyone who knows me knows better. Unfortunately, that leaves everyone else to decide whether to take her review to heart or not.

So, now what? Verbally telling them isn't the same as having it written out in black and white.

[Paul Smith LDO]

So are our hands tied as to how we can let them know of the reality? We can't write it as a footnote of sorts on the back of the Rx or something? I wasted so much time with her trying to make her understand there was nothing we could do about how her glasses were made elsewhere or the decisions they made. So she literally blasted me specifically for telling her what she obviously didn't want to hear. I have a reputation that has patients coming from other offices to make their glasses with me, Some from up to 3 hours away. So for her to question my customer service was a slap in the face to say the least. The doc of course was incredulous of her claims which she not only put online but also wrote in a letter addressed to him . Silver lining: anyone who knows me knows better. Unfortunately, that leaves everyone else to decide whether to take her review to heart or not.

So, now what? Verbally telling them isn't the same as having it written out in black and white.

It has to be explained to the patient, that the onus falls on them; that they are ultimately responsible for the communication that takes place between them and the party fabricating their Rx. Things like this happen and when they do it's nice to have a protocol set in place. Have an office meeting and ask the doc or doc's how they want these situations handled. In the mind of a petulant adult there is little rationale and they lack the coping skills most in their demographics exhibit. This is why we get the big $$.