3 ms·

I've been saying this for years. It's an industry scam. Even if I played the rhetorical game where it isn't a scam, they should give a pre test where if I read

I've been saying this for years. It's an industry scam. Even if I played the rhetorical game where it isn't a scam, they should give a pre test where if I read 20/20 I skip the exam and renew my prescription, sans doctor fees.

jtwaleson 3y ago
There’s multiple companies bringing this to the market as telemedicine (edit: yes already now in the US). Basically you do an eye test (to measure visual acuity) at home using your phone or computer and an optometrist reviews the data and approves / re-approves your Rx. Then you can order online. For limited prescription ranges it is also possible to give out a complete Rx via a remote examination but FDA has yet to approve a device on the US market for this. In the EU it is already being done. Disclaimer: I worked for one of these companies.
- unethical_ban 3y ago
  I love this, but it seems to be a gray-area hack around protectionist state laws. For example, I believe this whole "yearly check-up" thing is at the Texas state level for me. When I order online from a site that has no physical presence in Texas, they do not care about the prescription date.
yuppiepuppie 3y ago
This is what happened to me last week where I live (Spain). Went in to a new optician office, the lady took my old glasses, put them in a machine which told her the prescription, she told me to put them on and then gave me the classic exam with the small letters on the far side of the room. Once she determined that everything was fine with my current prescription, she let me pick out a new set of glasses. I was in and out in 20 min with a new set already ordered. When I was in the US, getting a job done like this would be unheard of.
khazhoux 3y ago
Why do you need to “renew” the prescription if your glasses give you 20/20 already?
- everfree 3y ago
  To replace broken glasses, or buy a second pair.
  - khazhoux 3y ago
    I didn't even realize that. I buy mine online.
- gumby 3y ago
  Your prescription can change (I had 20/20 vision & no reading glasses, until I was 54; four years after that I had trouble seeing and indeed my prescription was no longer correct). But why each year? I assume the Opthamologist association would say (as referenced in the article) that they need to look for ocular disease, or diseases that are detectable through eye exam (e.g. diabetes). Not clear to me!

jtwaleson 3y ago

There’s multiple companies bringing this to the market as telemedicine (edit: yes already now in the US). Basically you do an eye test (to measure visual acuity) at home using your phone or computer and an optometrist reviews the data and approves / re-approves your Rx. Then you can order online. For limited prescription ranges it is also possible to give out a complete Rx via a remote examination but FDA has yet to approve a device on the US market for this. In the EU it is already being done. Disclaimer: I worked for one of these companies.

unethical_ban 3y ago
I love this, but it seems to be a gray-area hack around protectionist state laws. For example, I believe this whole "yearly check-up" thing is at the Texas state level for me. When I order online from a site that has no physical presence in Texas, they do not care about the prescription date.

yuppiepuppie 3y ago

This is what happened to me last week where I live (Spain). Went in to a new optician office, the lady took my old glasses, put them in a machine which told her the prescription, she told me to put them on and then gave me the classic exam with the small letters on the far side of the room. Once she determined that everything was fine with my current prescription, she let me pick out a new set of glasses. I was in and out in 20 min with a new set already ordered. When I was in the US, getting a job done like this would be unheard of.

khazhoux 3y ago

Why do you need to “renew” the prescription if your glasses give you 20/20 already?

everfree 3y ago
To replace broken glasses, or buy a second pair.
- khazhoux 3y ago
  I didn't even realize that. I buy mine online.
gumby 3y ago
Your prescription can change (I had 20/20 vision & no reading glasses, until I was 54; four years after that I had trouble seeing and indeed my prescription was no longer correct). But why each year? I assume the Opthamologist association would say (as referenced in the article) that they need to look for ocular disease, or diseases that are detectable through eye exam (e.g. diabetes). Not clear to me!