asketumspamnot

What federal regulations are in effect to control opticians?
Getting a pair of glasses seems to be a problem. For one thing they
insist on 'keeping' my prescription. ( I bought and paid for it so
can't believe they have that right) Secondly, I've been told that
there is a time limit on having a prescription filled. Thirdly, I've
been told that omitting part of the prescription (like the prism part)
is illegal.
I'm beginning to believe that opticians operate by scamming
the public. Also, what with the great difference in prices and
features that only the knowledgeable understand fully, the whole
business is suspect.
Finally, is there any place (company or source) where I can be
assured of getting good service, at reasonable prices without all the
'bull' from clerks who seem to be hired on personality and looks?
I retired from a technical occupation where we charged mostly
for our expertise and not for the hardware, but it seems to me that a
$300+ charge for five bucks worth of plastic is carrying it a bit far,
especially since the optometrist is the one who did the important part
of the service and his charge is pretty reasonable.

mark a

In most cases optometrists (i.e. OD's, who give eye exams and sometimes
dispense glasses also) and opticians (the ones who only dispense glasses at
retail stores) are regulated by state laws. There is not as much regulation
of opticians compared to that of OD's, but this also depends on the state.

There is one case when the federal government has stepped in. The FTC has
mandated that the OD who gives the exam must give the patient a written copy
of the Rx upon request after the exam is paid for. You just need to tell
them that you know about the federal law, and demand they give you the Rx.
If an optician is keeping your Rx after you purchased lenses, then demand
that you give it back. I would call the police if they refused (preferably
with other customers in the store). In any event you should be able to go
back to the OD who gave the exam and get another copy (if not expired).

There is usually a time limit on an Rx for glasses or contacts (just like
there is a time limit on an Rx for drugs). This depends on the state, but is
usually 1 year for glasses in most states, unless the OD writes an
expiration date less than 1 year on the Rx.

I don't exactly know whether it is legal to omit the prism on the Rx, but I
doubt that it is legal if you paid for the exam.

I have found that Wal-Mart has decent prices, good products (although
limited to certain brands) and consistently good opticians who dispense
frames and lenses. I was very surprised to find this, but I have surveyed
more than 8 Wal-mart stores and they all had above average personnel. Of
course there are many qualified people in independent optical stores and
even a few chains, but it is more hit and miss with the other stores I
tried. Lenscrafters has lots of sales prices these days, but mediocre
quality products and pitiful sales staff (with a few exceptions).

But high tech lenses are expensive (especially progressives) partly because
of the frequency of free remakes or complete refunds (most of these lenses
have 30-90 day warranties if the customer does not like them).

dabel

I've been pretty happy with my HMO, Kaiser. They have slightly lower
prices, and aren't interested in "pushing" anything.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
dabel@sonic.net

dr. leukoma

I know they aren't interested in pushing anything, but are they interested
in doing anything?

DrG

david robins, md

Kaiser, at least in Northern California, has the highest quality of care
rates in the state according to the state office that monitors such things
(big newspaper article recently).

Highest detection, care and treatment of the types of things employer
organizations care about, ie: hypertension, diabetes, diabetic retinopathy,
and a host of others. True, not without problems of their own, but since
there is no salary incentive to push things like cataract surgery on people
who don't need it, there isn't the same pushing like goes on in private
practice offices frequently.

Not sure what you mean by, "but are they interested in doing anything?".

BTW, they aren't the "low price leader" anymore - they are mid to high
price, and the highest in quality.

On 10/16/03 6:46 PM, in article
Xns9416D4760294Adrgleukomacom@204.127.204.17, "Dr. Leukoma"

david robins, md

Treating a lot of kids, I find the Wal-Mart store in my area to be a problem
in frames issues. Wrong size frame for kids, both in terms of eyewire (lens
diameter too large) and esp. temple length. I often see long temples bent
long to d**** behind the ears very low, rather than to get the correct
elngth temples, or cut and trim metal ones to the right length. Costco seems
to be second worse. Since opticians are generally trained similarly, I'm
not sure where the problem lies.


David Robins, MD
Board certified Ophthalmologist
Pediatric and strabismus subspecialty
Member of AAPOS
(American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

dr. leukoma

I guess when compared to all other HMO's in the land of the HMO, Kaiser
might be a standout. I practice in Texas, where HMO's aren't as common,
and often come under criticism in the press. I recall that Kaiser used to
be in North Texas, but I think they either closed a number of offices or
pulled out altogether. To date, nobody has gathered statistics from me on
the rate of detection, care and treatment of things my patients care about,
and so I wouldn't have any idea how I might fare against a Kaiser
optometrist.

DrG

dabel

I've been happy with their service. I moved to Northern California in
1972 and signed up with Kaiser when I got my first real job in October of
that year. I have been signed up with them continuously since then. In
general, their medical service is very good, and their non-medical service
is patchy.


All of our children were born in Kaiser hospitals. The medical care was
great, but inconvenient. There weren't enough babies born in Marin County
to justify a 24X7 neonatal intensive care, so there were no childbirth
facilities at that hospital. We had to drive to San Francisco, 50 miles
away, for the labor and delivery. There were classes to tell us what to
expect, where to go and how to survive the "Kaiser process". We were told
that we should bring our own food, since the food at Kaiser hospitals was
inedible for some people. People complain about airline food now, but
Kaiser hospital food for patients was far worse. If you were ambulatory,
you had to "cook" it yourself, in the microwaves placed in every hall.


To be honest, my primary OD is in private practice. At the time I was
selecting an OD, my Kaiser plan did not include glasses, just the exam.
The nearest Kaiser OD, and their optical shop, was 20 miles away, often
through horrible traffic. I have vision insurance through my employer, so
I pay my OD a US$10 copay for the exam, and the insurance company covers
part of the cost of my contacts. His office is 2 miles from my house, and
on the way to and from work. I now have "hardware" coverage through
Kaiser, so I get my glasses there. They have a nice, new medical office
building two miles from my house, with 2 ODs. In fact, they just
completed a second building, and moved the eye clinic to it. They will be
offering OMD appointments there.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
dabel@sonic.net

robert martellaro

Nothing by the feds, 19 states have testing and licensure. http://www.oaa.org/navbar/4oaamembers/8license/

If my client wants the original Rx back I make myself a copy. I don't see the
problem here.

I would be uncomfortable fitting you with new lenses from a two year old Rx. It
might end up costing you more money in the long run, with an increased risk of
undiagnosed pathology to boot.

If you don't want prism you need to talk to your doctor. Good luck.

Sounds like troll bait. Against my better judgement I'll respond.

If you desire to be "serviced" by knowledgable and competent opticians you
should contact your state legislature. If enough consumers complain they will
listen. Or you can do what the chain opticals, optometrists, and insurance
companies do... write five figure checks directly to their re-election campaign.
If there's any scamming going on it's upstairs, not down where the $7/hour
trainee optician sits.


I would think that the quality of vision and comfort would be a priority.


The fee for my expertise is combined with the fee for the "hardware".

If I bought a frame for five bucks and sold it for $300+ the market place and
word of mouth would put me out of business.

I would agree that good optometrists are underpaid.


Robert Martellaro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Optician/Owner
Roberts Optical
robopt@execpc.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself."
- Richard Feynman