K. Kent Miller of the Spectacle Shoppe Inc. calls FTC ruling a 'glimmer of light.'

DAVID DINELL

Opticians seeing victory

FTC ruling could bolster local business

By ROZ HUTCHINSON

A recent settlement between a Texas optometric center and the Federal Trade Commission is being carefully watched by prescription eyeglass dispensers across the country.

Wichita opticians contacted this week said they hope the case will shine some light on consumers’ rights when it comes to their optical prescriptions.

In the case that has brought the issue into public view, Doctor’s Eyecare Center Inc. agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty to settle charges by the FTC that the company violated its 18-year-old Prescription Release Rule.

Basically, that rule requires that ophthalmologists and optometrists, also known as refractionists, provide the patient with a copy of his or her eyeglass prescription immediately after the eye examination, whether the patient requests one or not.

The rule also prohibits waivers on the prescription implying that the examining doctor is not liable for its accuracy or that responsibility for any inaccuracies be assumed by the dispensing optician.

(While as part of the consent decree Doctor’s Eyecare officials acknowledged no guilt, the settlement does permanently enjoin the company from committing any future violations.)

The action marked the first time the FTC has imposed a fine on an optometrist or ophthalmologist for failing to abide by what some Wichita opticians say is a seldom-followed rule.

Local optometrists and ophthalmologists contacted for this story said they have long been aware of the rule and are in compliance with it, some local opticians and consumers said that hasn't been their experience.

Said veterinarian Cindy Payne, who had her eyes examined last month: -"1 am 35 years old and I have worn glasses since the third grade and I have always had to ask for (my prescription)".  Payne said she has asked for a copy from her current optometrist’s office in the past and received one, but added that she’s "been given static before" from other offices.

K. Kent Miller, optician-owner of the Spectacle Shoppe Inc., said "there are a handful of doctors in town who don’t give us any problems" with obtaining a patient’s eyeglass prescription.  However, he said they are the exception.  For example, he said, some optometrists say the only way they will release a prescription is if the patient comes in and picks it up personally.  "My response is, ’Let me give you my fax number,’ to which they’ll say. ’ Oh, no, we’re not authorized to release it to an optician, only to the patient,’ Miller said.   "Have you ever gotten a prescription from out of state, had a pharmacist call for it and be told, ’No, you’ll have to fly back and pick it up yourself?’   It’s ridiculous.’  Miller, who bought the shop from his mother 12 years ago but started to work there in 1973, said he used to call the FTC whenever he saw such a violation.   "But after about seven years. I gave up," he said.   He said he did so because the FTC wanted the consumer to file a report, too.   However, many of his customers were reluctant to do that because of their relationship with their optometrist or ophthalmologist.

"The scenario that so often happens is the patient with insurance is escorted to an optical dispenser in the doctor’s own office,  "Miller said", without ever even being handed their script.  Ironically, while the patient may go ahead and purchase glasses from the doctor prior to third-party payment, if the patient wants to go elsewhere he or she is told that the prescription won’t be released until. payment has been received for the exam, Miller said.   How long can it take for a third-party reimbursement?  Said Miller: "I've seen it take up to a year and a half and sometimes we just write it off."

Paul Houghland, executive director of the Virginia-based Opticians Association of America, said that optometrists and ophthalmologists are within their rights in requiring that services be paid up front.  However, he said, "they can’t require you to pay (before releasing the prescription) unless every one of their patients is required to pay in advance for services."  Houghland said that while the FTC settlement is the first time the agency has levied a penalty, it isn’t the first time it has approached an eye-care provider about a violation.

"The typical action is that the FTC would call the refractionist and call their attention to the violation and that’s usually sufficient," he said. However, many consumers aren’t aware that they are supposed to receive a copy of their prescription immediately following their exam despite efforts by the FTC and Hougland's association to educate them about their rights.  (A brochure the two put together jointly is available in many opticians’ outlets, but is less likely to be dispersed in the office of people who write the prescriptions, he said)

Optometrist Douglas K. Blackman, primary care director for Grene Vision Group, said that while his office doesn’t offer the brochures, patients are routinely given a copy of their eyeglass prescription.  "When we examine a patient, we write it out on a three-part card, with one going to records, one to the optical partner in our office and the third one goes to the patient in laminated form," Blackman said.   "The only exception is when there is little to no change from the lenses they are currently wearing," he said.  Blackman said that Grene Vision's prescriptions carry no disclaimer.  However, patients are told that if they have it filled elsewhere and experience problems that his office will be glad to check the accuracy with which the prescription was filled.  And prescriptions do have a one-year expiration date - which may in some cases be extended if the patient is experiencing no difficulty, he said.

Houghland said that expiration dates are "somewhat of a gray area up for FTC discussion in the coming year" -but that the industry standard for a healthy adult is an exam every two to four years.

Diana Carriger, a practicing optometrist and secretary-treasurer of the State Board of Optometry, said that she doesn’t recall having had any complaints regarding release of eyeglass prescriptions.

The Spectacle Shoppe’s Miller said that the ranks of independent opticians have thinned considerably in recent years - in part because of patients being steered by refracionists into their own retail concerns.

Miller said he has carved a niche for himself by specializing in unique, high-end eyeglasses earned exclusively in his store and by educating his customers about their rights to their prescriptions.  Still, the teeth the FTC put into its release ruling came none too soon for Miller.  "It’s a glimmer of light," he said.