FCLCA Compliance and Contact Lens Safety

Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) History

The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) became law on February 4, 2004. The Act mandates that eye care practitioners, including optometrists, release contact lens prescriptions to their patients. It also requires contact lens sellers to verify the validity of contact lens prescriptions before releasing contact lenses to consumers. Included below is additional information regarding AOA advocacy regarding the FCLCA, how to report FCLCA violations and additional resources to assist AOA members with complying with the FCLCA and ensuring contact lens seller compliance.

Resources

• Important Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act Update for Doctors of Optometry
• AOA Comments on the FCLCA Proposed Rule
• FCLCA Final Rule
• Clarification on FTC Contact Lens Prescription Request Guidance
• AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section
• Final Rule Q&A
• "Complying with the Contact Lens Rule" (Information from the Federal Trade Commission)
• "The Contact Lens Rule: A Guide for Prescribers and Sellers"  (A guide from the Federal Trade Commission)

AOA Contact Lens Safety Advocacy

Ensuring that contact lenses are used safely by the public, and urging a robust response by Federal and state authorities to illegal and improper contact lens sales is a top priority for the AOA. In addition to efforts to educate consumers, AOA regularly meets with Federal agency officials to urge that more be done to crackdown on unscrupulous Internet and unconventional direct sellers, and these efforts are always informed and bolstered by reports AOA receives from individual doctors from across the country.
Eye care practitioners should report all violations of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) - including instances in which contact lens sellers fail to comply with the prescription verification provisions of the law.

Examples of non-compliance by sellers may include:

• No date and time on faxes
• Multiple requests for same patient after receiving doctor response
• Refusal to accept "Rx has expired" as compliant response
• Selling contact lenses, decorative or corrective lenses, without prescription
• Ignoring the eight business hour response period
• Substituting lenses
• Unintelligible recorded messages or other messages not allowing the practitioner a reasonable opportunity to respond

Click below to report:

• Website illegally selling contact lenses
• Contact lens seller (online or in person) selling contact lenses with poor business practices that could lead to harm or injury
• Any problems with decorative contact lenses
• Any adverse reactions experienced with use of contact lenses or quality problems

Additionally, for AOA’s internal records, or simple for assistance is getting your message to the right people, please report all incidents to Kara Webb at kcwebb@aoa.org

Read more about AOA's contact lens advocacy below:

• Eye Care Community Unites to Discuss Contact Lens Testing
• All Contact Lenses, Even Plano, Require a Prescription!
• Public Service Announcement with FDA and EIC
• How social media can combat illegal contact lens sales
• Another 'W' for healthy eyes
• AOA advocacy leads to federal crackdown on illegal contact lenses
• FDA Email to On-line Distributors About Unlawful Marketing of Decorative Contact Lenses
• AOA Comments to FTC regarding FCLCA
• Federal CL law must better protect patients from unscrupulous sellers
• Report adverse events involving novelty CLs to FDA, AOA urges
• AFOS gets Web site to stop offering overseas military CLs without Rx
• AFOS, AOA secure change in CL sales via military POs
• Reps. Whitfield and Allen to Continue Crackdown on Irresponsible Internet Contact Lens Sellers in 2007
• FTC sends 25 warnings for FCLCA violations
• Congress Approves Contact Lens Bill to Protect Kids from Eye Injury, Infection
• AOA Letter to the Editor of US Weekly
• AOA Letter to Coolglow.com
  
  

 Join the Contact Lens and Cornea Section (CLCS):

• Stay informed and help improve contact lens safety by becoming a member of AOA's Contact Lens and Cornea Section. Click here to join.

Please contact Kara Webb at kcwebb@aoa.org with any questions or concerns regarding the activities of unscrupulous contact lens sellers or situations in which consumer safety is at immediate risk.

Looking for the AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section webpage? Click here.