Contact lens box limits?

[pseudonym]

OD at our location makes a box limit at the bottom of all his Rx's. Example: "12 lenses per eye per year"

Everytime we fill one of his contact Rx's, we have to go back through the history to see if the patient has ordered his full quota.

If we order an extra box, is it legal to dispense it?

[Michael I. Davis]

No

[DanLiv]

My doc tries to do this too. Not specifically disallowed, but not allowed either. The Contact Lens Rule allows expirations by date only, not amount. Any expiration other than 1 year or state regulated expiration requires documented statement of medical judgment. Dunno what FTC reviewers would think of an attempt to regulate quantity. Somebody will figure that out in court some day.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retriev...#se16.1.315_16

§315.6 Expiration of contact lens prescriptions.

(a) In general. A contact lens prescription shall expire:
(1) On the date specified by the law of the State in which the prescription was written, if that date is one year or more after the issue date of the prescription;
(2) Not less than one year after the issue date of the prescription if such State law specifies no date or specifies a date that is less than one year after the issue date of the prescription; or
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, on the date specified by the prescriber, if that date is based on the medical judgment of the prescriber with respect to the ocular health of the patient.
(b) Special rules for prescriptions of less than one year. (1) If a prescription expires in less than one year, the specific reasons for the medical judgment referred to in paragraph (a)(3) of this section shall be documented in the patient's medical record with sufficient detail to allow for review by a qualified professional in the field.
(2) The documentation described in the paragraph above shall be maintained for a period of not less than three years, and it must be available for inspection by the Federal Trade Commission, its employees, and its representatives.
(3) No prescriber shall include an expiration date on a prescription that is less than the period of time that he or she recommends for a reexamination of the patient that is medically necessary.

[pseudonym]

Thanks, Dan.

[uncut]

OD at our location makes a box limit at the bottom of all his Rx's. Example: "12 lenses per eye per year"

Everytime we fill one of his contact Rx's, we have to go back through the history to see if the patient has ordered his full quota.

If we order an extra box, is it legal to dispense it?

So I'm thinkiing of circumstances............

What if:

I lost a pack.
I left a pack at my cottage, a 3 hour drive one way!
I placed a spare pair in my snowmobile suit, glove box of 3 different vehicles, scuba gear, squash kit, golf bag.....and left a spare pair at the MIL, or at the girlfriend's house.

What would I have left to wear for the rest of the year?

We usually view the "suggestions" at the bottom of optical rxs as "possible use discussed".

[drk]

I'm pretty sure we're allowed to Rx quantity in Ohio. Read this:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busi...tact-lens-rule
As the eye care provider, may I include a specific number of refills on a contact lens prescription?
The Contact Lens Rule doesn’t require or prohibit you from including refill quantities on contact lens prescriptions. Follow your state law if it requires — or prohibits — such information. Note that the Rule does not allow you to use refill quantities to shorten a prescription expiration period to less than a year, unless there are legitimate medical reasons.


OTOH, specifying quantity is probably going to be useless. Unless it is a requirement that CLRxs are handled like drug Rxs (as they should be, IMO) and the pharmacist/dispenser takes the Rx and fills it as ordered, ONLY, then the patient can fill the CLRx until they stockpile as many as they want. Twelve with 1-800, twelve with Coastal, twelve with Lens.com, etc ad nauseum.

[drk]

Not specifically disallowed, but not allowed either.

It's a state board issue that was not involved in the FCLCA.

State rules are enforced unless overridden by the federal law.

Therefore the rules are NOT overridden.

So ODs can specify quantity, unless the state disallows.