You own your prescription
The year 2020 wasn’t all bad. It gave us “Tiger King,” record puppy-adoption numbers, and ample excuses to wear sweatpants. It also gave us some new amendments to the FTC’s Contact Lens Rule, which promotes contact lens shopping by requiring your eye doctor to provide you with a copy of your prescription at the end of a contact lens fitting.
The FTC now requires prescribers “to request that their patients confirm that they have received their prescription, and allow flexibility in the way the prescription and confirmation are provided.” Translation: your prescription belongs to you, and you should be able to do what you want with it.
So, why is owning your prescription important? How can you get your prescription? And what can you do with your prescription? We’re glad you asked.
Why owning your prescription is important
Imagine going to get your driver’s license and being told that you could drive only one car brand of the DMV’s choosing. To make matters worse, you’re told that you have to buy the car from the DMV, even if you know of better sellers or cheaper prices. Wouldn’t that be absurd? So too is the idea that you should have to buy your contacts from the person who prescribes them.
Thanks to the Contact Lens Rule, you own your prescription and can get contacts whenever you want, from whomever you want.
How you can get your prescription
Because you own your prescription, you’re entitled to a copy of it from your eye doctor. Your doctor is required to give you a free prescription copy, even if you don’t ask for it. They should also ask you to sign something to acknowledge that you’ve received the prescription.
You’ll want to check to make sure your prescription is for contact lenses, not glasses only. A contacts prescription will include a specific brand name and contact lens measurements (e.g., power, base curve, diameter). If your prescription information looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics, you’re not alone. Get some help from our Rosetta Stone.
What you can do with your prescription
Once you have your prescription, you can do whatever you want with it. Seriously, make a paper airplane, do origami, write a letter to Santa. This is a judgment-free zone.
The most practical use for contact-lens prescriptions, of course, is ordering contacts from a seller of your choice. You can either supply your chosen seller with your prescription copy or ask them to verify the prescription with your eye doctor.
If we were you, we’d order from us. But we’re a bit biased. You should do what you want. It’s your prescription. Own it.