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One pretty big (and relatively unknown) law is that your doctor needs to give you your vision prescription so you can buy glasses elsewhere (usually for much ch
by xmprt 5y ago
One pretty big (and relatively unknown) law is that your doctor needs to give you your vision prescription so you can buy glasses elsewhere (usually for much cheaper). I think a lot of them get around this by letting you look for glasses while waiting and not telling you that this law exists.
- tyingq 5y agoThey also get around it by first handing you a prescription that doesn't have your pupillary distance noted. It's such a passive-aggressive bullshit move.
- tristor 5y agoThe bigger issue is that a prescription alone is not enough to order new glasses, you also need pupillary distance measurements in order to ensure the lenses are ground correctly. Many many optometrists will not provide these, only the legally obligated prescription. While for most people who have minimum prescriptions you can use a phone app or similar to get a rough PD, for anyone with serious prescriptions even minute variations in PD can prevent proper vision correction.
- dsr_ 5y agoOn the other hand, your PD should not change once you are an adult, outside of major traumatic events.
- JCM9 5y agoIf an industry’s strategy to keep itself alive is keeping the distance between your eyes a closely protected secret… the end appears near.
- etaioinshrdlu 5y agoI've probably been to 5 optometrists over the years and they all provided PD.
- FemmeAndroid 5y agoThis happened to my wife just last month. I was very frustrated when I saw that she hadn't received a PD, but I didn't realize that this is a frequent and intentional decision at this point. Extremely frustrating.
- mikeInAlaska 5y agoMy local optometrist uses a $99 Enshey (check amazon) IPD measurement device. I guess if I was ordering glasses for my entire family (we do), it would probably be worth it.
- nicoburns 5y agoReally? Mine just eyeballed it with a ruler!
- otabdeveloper4 5y agoI'm not in the US; when I got my latest pair of glasses they just used a ruler. It works fine. (Yes, I'm exactly one of those people sensitive to "minute variations".)
- handrous 5y agoI used the "ruler on a mirror, open one eye, center it on the end of the ruler, close it and open the other eye, mark where the center is on the ruler, then read the measurement (in mm)" method. Did it a few times to be sure, exact same results every time, just have to keep your head still and geometry does the work for you. Glasses made using that measurement have been entirely fine, no problems.
- adolph 5y agoWorked for me too. Had my PD measured afterwards and device value was same as mirror method.
- donatj 5y agoI needed my PD to get prescription lenses for my Oculus headset and it wasn't on my prescription. On a whim I asked at a glasses store in the mall if they could measure mine. They happily did it for free. Your milage may vary on that of course, depending on the person you interact with.
- vburg 5y agoThey made me sign a waiver then gave me the wrong measurements.
- radicaldreamer 5y agoI asked about 3 times for a PD measurement at my last exam and they distracted me and failed to put it on the prescription or measure it... didn't realize this was probably intentional
- bluGill 5y agoLast time I got glasses I bought from them, and asked about swim goggles - which they don't carry. They then happily wrote my PD on a paper for me to use when buying swim goggles - or anything else. (too bad I lost the paper since...)
- conductr 5y agoJust ask for the PD on the prescription, they generally don’t mind but also won’t offer. It makes things awkward if they refuse. I ask in the exam room.
- gumby 5y agoThey often leave off the IPD (distance between your pupils) to make the prescription useless (you can measure the distance yourself).
- nomel 5y agoYou would think that someone would have a smartphone app for this.
- kwiens 5y agoYou're absolutely correct that this has had a huge impact. This is actually the FTC's eyeglass rule and not a separate law, something that I didn't know until they started getting involved with Right to Repair. https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/eyeglass-rule https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- elliekelly 5y agoThe law specifies they have to give you the paper prescription (for no extra charge beyond the cost of the exam) even if you don’t ask for it. There’s no getting around it. Either they give you the prescription after your exam or they’re not compliant with the law. Consumer ignorance or apathy isn’t a valid defense.
- dzhiurgis 5y agoLife pro hack - look out for "free eye tests" - get the prescription and walk out without a purchase. Something like 90% of market is captured by Luxotica hence 4x price when compared with online.