Latest News Bausch + Lomb Issues Letter to ECPs Supporting FTC’s Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act By Staff Friday, February 12, 2016 12:15 AM BRIDGEWATER, N.J.—Bausch + Lomb distributed a letter to ECPs on Feb. 10 in an effort to provide a brief update regarding their response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) review of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act’s (FCLCA) implementing Contact Lens Rule, as reported by VMail. The Contact Lens Rule, effective since August 2004, requires eyecare prescribers to provide a copy of a consumer’s prescription to the consumer after a contact lens fitting is completed and verify with, or provide prescriptions to, authorized contact lens sellers. It also mandates that a contact lens seller may sell contact lenses only in accordance with a prescription the seller has received from the patient or prescriber, or has verified via direct communication with the prescriber.The letter, titled Our Commitment to Promoting Patient Health & Safety, came from Mark McKenna, senior vice president and general manager, U.S. Vision Care for B+L. It stated that B+L is has been a working member of the Coalition for Patient Vision Care Safety since it was formed in August 2015. The Coalition brings together contact lens manufacturers, eyecare doctors and associations, and medical device trade associations to provide comment to the FTC and members of Congress on ways to preserve patient access to contact lenses. The letter stated, “We stand firm in our request that the FTC continues to maintain and enforce the following at both the state and national level: current standards requiring that contact lens prescribers include the specific brand and product name on patient prescriptions; consumer safeguards prohibiting a seller from substituting a non-prescribed brand without consulting and verifying such substitution with the prescriber; and the one-year minimum contact lens prescription expiration date.“We also encourage the FTC to strengthen the rule by: aligning the contact lens market with the dispensing/fulfillment standards in the pharmaceutical industry by requiring the quantity of lenses to be included on every contact lens prescription; and addressing loopholes related to the current passive verification system to ensure consumers receive the exact contact lenses prescribed and to prevent sellers from processing contact lens orders for excessive quantities.”In addition, Bausch + Lomb is also tracking developments at the state level, where similar attempts may be made through state legislation to disrupt the FCLCA, specifically, in Arizona, “where these protections are directly at risk through pending legislative efforts. We are providing direct financial support to the Arizona State Optometric Society (AZOA) to assist in their efforts to advance the optometric profession and help provide the best care for patients.