There is no doubt that the landscape of contact lens prescribing is changing. Look no further than the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) Contact Lens Rule modifications, requiring eyecare practitioners to provide a prescription for patients’ contact lenses after a successful fitting. Further, the Rule requires practitioners to document via a signed receipt that patients have received their prescription, and this must be maintained on file for three years, among other things. While this is argued as a “consumer rights” protection, it directly and indirectly places the power of prescribing in the hands of patients and retailers. Further to this, the COVID-19 pandemic, still affecting all of us, is undoubtedly accelerating this channel disruption, not only in eye care but in all of health care.

Beyond this, technologies and innovations in lens dispensing, lens manufacturing, and distribution channels will continue to “disrupt” traditional approaches to contact lens prescribing, dispensing, and procurement. Will we soon see contact lenses dispensed from vending machines? I am told that in other parts of the world, this is already a reality.

So what is a practitioner to do under these circumstances? While I do not profess to have all of the answers, I do have a few suggestions. Provide value through the professional services that you provide (e.g., medical eye care). Reach out and adopt new technologies first, as these often require practitioners to implement them to achieve widespread use. Most importantly—fit specialty contact lenses! I have said this for years, as have others, but fitting specialty lenses from vending machines will be a real challenge for the foreseeable future, so you and your patients should reap the benefits now. And last but not least, do not fight or ignore the inevitable! Bob Dylan said it well in “The Times They Are A-Changing”:

Come gather ‘round, people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You’ll be drenched to the bone.

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’.

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The goal of Contact Lens Spectrum is to provide you with timely and thought-provoking articles that will help you become a more successful contact lens practitioner. Please let us know how we’re doing! E-mail CLSpectrum@pentavisionmedia.com with your comments or article submissions.