I was told by my manager that if someone comes in and wants a +5.00 cheater reader I'm not allowed to make one in the back for them. She said that we would need a current prescription from a doctor to do that, even though we could theoretically sell +5.00 cheaters that we buy from somewhere like Hilco, we can't do it in a frame the patient likes. Anyone know if there is a law about that? Does it vary state by state?
I think it would be OK if you made them in front.Originally Posted by bta89
To me this is filling a prescription that you determined either by reading an old prescription, taking the patient's word, or using trial lenses, without a Doctor's consent (in the form of a prescription). This would make you the prescriber. Unless you live in a state like MA that allows opticians to match the prescription in a patient's old glasses (which I'm sure OH does not) you would be exceeding the scope of your license (or the licensed optician you are working under). Similarly, I would also say putting in a different prescription in an rxable reader (like the Clic Readers) would exceed what you are allowed to do without a prescription.
Last edited by jpways; 05-21-2018 at 04:59 PM. Reason: Edited for clarity and to avoid a long phrase in parentheses
She's right. Need RX. Can duplicate in Florida.
It just seems weird to me. They can purchase an OTC-reader in what ever prescription they want, but I can't make them and sell them in better frames..
We're dealing in the realm of OTC vs prescription, just like with medications, there are a certain portion of the market that the FDA considers low risk enough that they approve it for over the counter purchase with the patient assuming all risk for the treatment. Once you move out of that small portion of the market that is approved for OTC sale, it requires a prescription to fill. And while OTC readers and prescription reading glasses are similar they are not the same both in the eyes of regulation and (sometimes) optically.
They don't sell OTC readers over about +3.00, right?
Any higher would be correcting for hypermetropia.
+10.00 on amazon didn't bother looking for any higher
Back when OTC readers first came to market (1960???) an entrepreneurial optician used to buy a bunch of discontinued zyle frames and glass spheres from +3.00 through -5.00 and glaze them up as "readers." He sold them by the hundreds at a big flea market and made a pile of money, The majority of his customers really appreciated the face that their "reading glasses" worked real well for driving.
You cant beat American ingenuity.
Readers.com sells up to +7.00!
I wonder if Readers.com grinds prism into those high plus lenses.
Wow. I didn't know.
I almost drove off the road when I heard their power ranges on a commercial on the radio a few weeks ago. Granted they only have 4 or 5 hideous styles in such powers, but still. Its a buyer beware world I guess.
Speaking of roads, optical correction is so far down the road to OTC/D-I-Y it's ridiculous.
I think I'll change from "Doctor of Optometry; OD" to "Counselor of Optometry; OC".
And I won't write Rx ("take this") but I'll write Sx ("Hey, just a suggestion").
You will find that the OC's on all over the counter readers is 65MM + or - 10MM.
Probably on those high power ones. Fosterlux Grantzottica prints a suggested PD on the ones at CVS.
Grinding Prism? Ain't nobody got time for that.
I know Maine law states that up to a +3.25 can be made without an Rx. I figured that was up to the region considering I found the limit on the government website.
Have I told you today how much I hate poly?
When I start hearing patients asking for copies of their "suggested numbers," I'm blaming you personally. Just so you know.
Something else which plays right into this discussion is those adjustable glasses sold under names like "AdLens", et al. WE can't make up an Rx for the patient, but apparently it is perfectly legal to enable the patient to do so for himself. Those things will adjust anywhere from about a -6.00 to a +4.00, each eye independently. It's like handing the patient an Rx pad, and telling him to write whatever he wants.
Although these go against my grain, they have come in very handy for the occasional out-of-control diabetic, whose acuity goes through some wild swings while they're getting their glucose levels back under control. Thoughts? It seems to me that we have the OTC industry steadily encroaching on our territory, no matter what we do. "If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em"?
I plan on staying in business the same way that great restaurants stay in business when people can get prepared meals delivered to their house that they can cook themselves.
The only thing I can do is what I do. Just have to do it the best I can.
That's all any of us can do. Just noting the changing terrain in which we find ourselves.
Maybe they'll join forces with the auto-neutralizer computer app, then you can sit down in front of your computer and calibrate your powers before you leave the house each morning!
Hey, I've had a couple of RK patients over the years to whom that would have been a godsend, if you'll pardon the heresy.
Amazon found there was money to be made by selling more than just books. Microsoft has gone from building operating systems to investing in cloud environments. It just makes me wonder if professional Opticianry isn't hastening its own extinction by being too bound by the past. IMHO, of course.
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