Combatting UPP at the source

Editor’s Note: Welcome to “Eye Catching: Let's Chat,” a blog series featuringcontributions from members of the ophthalmic community. These blogs are an opportunity for ophthalmic bloggers to engage with readers with about a topic that is top of mind, whether it is practice management, experiences with patients, the industry, medicine in general, or healthcare reform. The series continues with this blog by Joy Gibb, ABOC, an optician at Daynes Eye and Lasik in Bountiful, UT. The views expressed in these blogs are those of their respective contributors and do not represent the views of  Ophthalmology Times or UBM Advanstar.

 

You may have recently heard in the news about the unilateral pricing policy (UPP) of several contact lens manufacturers being deemed unfair to consumers and the state of Utah passing legislation to ban it.

 Utah is my home state, and I have had the opportunity to hear from and talk with a legislator who felt he had been educated on the situation.  I’d like to share some of the concerns and perceptions he had because I think they are very similar to the concerns and perceptions of many of our patients/customers.

The eye care industry for years has had blurred lines about whether we are medical or retail. 

Top-paying states for ophthalmic techs

The truth is, we are both. 

They buy product in retail environments to solve medical issues and problems.  My vantage point has always been that a person is a patient in the chair, but a customer in your dispensary.

 As eye care professionals, our primary focus is always doing what’s in the best interest of the patient and giving them recommendations for vision solutions that will not only improve their visual acuity, but also their lifestyle.

One of the senator’s primary concerns was that a contact lens brand was being dictated on a prescription, which didn’t allow for consumers to then purchase whichever contact lens they felt more comfortable with or had the biggest rebate or lowest expense. 

OD-performed surgery dangerous, unacceptable

We’ve all experienced the phone call from a patient while they are at a big box discount chain, or the retail chain wanting a new prescription written for a different brand of contact lens, because they’ve been told the new lens is cheaper or it will be eligible for a larger rebate.  The senator just didn’t understand why that was such a big deal to just get a prescription filled for any contact lens.   

 

Photo credit:  ©Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com

 

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