ABO NOCE Basic Opticianry Ophthalmic Laws and Regulations Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient completes their eye exam, pays for the service, and asks for a copy of their spectacle prescription to take with them. The office policy is to only release prescriptions to patients who purchase eyewear from the in-house optical. According to the FTC Eyeglass Rule, what is the legal obligation of the prescriber?
- They can withhold the prescription until the patient agrees to look at their frame selection.
- They can charge a reasonable fee for providing a paper copy of the prescription.
- They must provide the patient with a copy of their prescription immediately after the exam, without requiring a purchase. (Correct answer)
- They are only required to release the prescription directly to another optical dispenser, not to the patient.
Correct answer: They must provide the patient with a copy of their prescription immediately after the exam, without requiring a purchase.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Eyeglass Rule requires prescribers to give patients their prescription immediately after an eye exam is complete. The rule prohibits conditioning the release of a prescription on the patient's agreement to purchase eyewear from the prescriber and forbids charging an additional fee for the prescription itself.
Question 2: An optician in a state without a specific law defining the expiration date for spectacle prescriptions receives a valid prescription from a new patient. According to the federal FTC Eyeglass Rule, what is the minimum length of time for which this prescription must be considered valid?
- Six months from the date of the examination.
- One year from the date of the examination. (Correct answer)
- Two years from the date of the examination.
- It is left entirely to the professional judgment of the dispensing optician.
Correct answer: One year from the date of the examination.
The FTC Eyeglass Rule stipulates that if state law does not define an expiration date, a spectacle prescription shall be valid for not less than one year. An optometrist or ophthalmologist may set a shorter expiration date if there is a specific medical reason, which should be documented. Contact lens prescriptions, governed by a different rule, typically have a minimum one-year expiration.
Question 3: Which of the following statements most accurately describes the FDA's requirement for impact resistance concerning general-purpose "dress" spectacle lenses?
- The requirement applies only to children's eyewear and safety glasses.
- Only glass lenses must be tested, as all plastic lenses are inherently impact-resistant.
- All prescription lenses must be impact-resistant, with most finished glass lenses requiring individual testing via the drop ball test. (Correct answer)
- A written waiver from the patient is all that is required to dispense non-impact-resistant lenses.
Correct answer: All prescription lenses must be impact-resistant, with most finished glass lenses requiring individual testing via the drop ball test.
Under FDA regulation 21 CFR 801.410, all general-purpose eyeglasses and sunglasses must be fitted with impact-resistant lenses. The regulation specifies that finished prescription glass lenses must generally be individually tested for impact resistance (e.g., via the drop ball test). While some specific lens types are exempt from testing (but not from the requirement to be impact-resistant), and a prescriber can waive the requirement in writing for a specific visual need, the general rule is that all lenses must be impact-resistant.
Question 4: While an optician is helping a customer at the dispensing table, a coworker loudly asks the optician a question from across the room, mentioning another patient's name and details about their high-power prescription. This action is a potential violation of which federal regulation?
- FTC Eyeglass Rule
- Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Correct answer)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act
Correct answer: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule protects all individually identifiable health information, known as Protected Health Information (PHI). Discussing a patient's PHI in a way that can be overheard by others who are not involved in their care is a common type of HIPAA violation.
Question 5: A third-party online retailer sends a contact lens prescription verification request to a prescriber's office. The prescriber's office is busy and does not respond. According to the FTC's Contact Lens Rule, what happens if the prescriber fails to respond within eight business hours?
- The order is automatically canceled and the patient must be notified.
- The seller must wait an additional 24 hours before taking any action.
- The prescription is considered passively verified, and the seller can legally fill the order. (Correct answer)
- The seller is required to call the prescriber's office for verbal confirmation.
Correct answer: The prescription is considered passively verified, and the seller can legally fill the order.
The FTC's Contact Lens Rule includes a provision for "passive verification." If a prescriber does not respond to a verification request within eight business hours, the prescription is deemed verified, and the seller is allowed to fill and ship the contact lenses.
Question 6: Which of the following tasks generally falls outside the legal scope of practice for a dispensing optician?
- Measuring a patient's pupillary distance and segment height.
- Performing a refraction to determine a patient's visual correction. (Correct answer)
- Duplicating a pair of single vision lenses from the patient's current glasses.
- Adjusting frames to modify pantoscopic tilt and face form.
Correct answer: Performing a refraction to determine a patient's visual correction.
A dispensing optician's role is to fit and dispense eyewear based on a valid prescription written by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist. Performing a refraction—the clinical process of using tests to determine a patient's refractive error and prescription—is the legal responsibility of an optometrist or ophthalmologist and is outside the optician's scope of practice.
ABO NOCE Basic Opticianry Ophthalmic Laws and Regulations Questions and Answers
A patient completes their eye exam, pays for the service, and asks for a copy of their spectacle prescription to take with them.
The office policy is to only release prescriptions to patients who purchase eyewear from the in-house optical.
According to the FTC Eyeglass Rule, what is the legal obligation of the prescriber?