What Can Someone Do if Your Eye Doctor Refuses to Write a Contact Lens Prescription?
December 20th, 2011 | See the Top Answers to this Question Below
Question by : What can someone do if your eye doctor refuses to write a contact lens prescription?
The eye doctors office we visit has a stated policy on their wall that they do no write contact lens prescriptions. But, from what I have read, by law, they cannot refuse to give you the prescription once your exam is complete.
What course of action should be taken if the eye doctor refuses to give you a written prescription?
Best answer:
Answer by DeannetheGreat
Find a different eye doctor and do not patronize this business. There’s no reason that I know of to have such a policy, and would be interested in the rationale behind it.
Answer by J
The doctor has not done a complete contact lens examination and fitting and he doesn’t always know the size and shape of your eye or any other factors which come into the process of fitting contacts.
Most Optometrists will be glad to make the appropriate measurements and do trial fittings. Contact lens fitting is a process, not something that can be done in in one sitting.
Nurses should not comment on things that they don’t know anything about.
Answer by Lens
You can buy lenses from the nearest optics store.
Answer by rainbowreggie
Go to a walk in optician like LensCrafters. They’ll most likely be able to take you right then or within a few hours and will happily fit you for contacts (and then sell you a year supply!). They also take most insurance. It should only take you an hour at the most. Good luck!
Answer by Doc
Of course it depends on where you are located. In the US, there is just such a law in place. You First, make sure that the doctor did an contact lens fitting. Just because a doctor fits contact lenses on you does not technically mean they have done a contact lens fitting. Look at your receipt and see if it shows a contact lens fitting on it. Even if the doctor charges for a fitting, they decide when the fitting is complete. Generally the fitting takes somewhere between a week and a month, but it can vary. If the office sells you actual boxes of contact lenses, then you have pretty good evidence that the fitting is complete.
Maybe the doctor just does not do contact lens fitting. In this case, the sign on the wall would probably be fine, but it would be highly unusual. The best advice is just to find another office and take your business elsewhere. If you really think the doctor is intentionally performing an illegal act, then you can look up the board for your state. Google “optometry board” or “medical board” with your state name, depending on whether the doctor is an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. The appropriate board will be able to ascertain the legality of the sign.
Answer by Judy B
Maybe the eye doctor does not fit contact lenses. If he does not fit contacts, he cannot write a prescription for them.
By law, he must give you the prescription once the fitting is complete. A fitting involves teaching you to insert, remove and care for lenses, providing trials, assessing the lenses after the trial period, ordering the first supply of lenses and assessing the lenses after a few months wear. If he doesn’t do that, then you will need to find a contact lens fitter and pay them for a fitting. Once the fitting is complete, the fitter can write the prescription.
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