(PRESS RELEASE) ALEXANDRIA, VA – Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (Alliance for Patient Safety) supporters from across all 50 U.S. states are preparing to descend on Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 7, 2018, for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) workshop titled, “The Contact Lens Rule and the Evolving Contact Lens Marketplace.”
Eye diseases, vision loss, and eye disorders create an estimated $139 billion economic burden in the U.S. and millions of Americans suffer from untreated or undiagnosed vision impairments. Members of the Alliance for Patient Safety are increasingly concerned that eye health and vision care are not priorities in the national health care discussion.
“The current verification of contact lens prescriptions includes issues like robocalls, excessive-quantity sales and lens substitutions, which create a system that treats the purchase of contact lenses as a mere economic transaction, without sufficient regard for patient safety,” said Deanna Alexander, O.D., Chair of the Alliance for Patient Safety. “The Alliance for Patient Safety believes the FTC should recognize the need for a contact lens verification process that is dedicated to protecting the well-being of patients and ensure that contact lenses are used safely and appropriately.”
The following Alliance for Patient Safety members and advocates will speak on panels at the FTC’s workshop:
- Dr. Carol Lakkis, BScOptom, Ph.D. – Participant on Panel II: Contact Lens Health and Safety Issues. Dr. Lakkis is Clinical Research Fellow and Head of Applied Clinical Science for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
- Dr. David A. Cockrell, O.D. – Participant on Panel IV: Examining the Verification Process and Panel V: Prescription Release and Consumer Choice. Dr. Cockrell is Diplomate American Board of Optometry, Past President, American Optometric Association (AOA).
- Mr. Shaun Schooley – Participant on Panel IV: Examining the Verification Process. Mr. Schooley is the Vice President of Global Marketing Technology, CooperVision.
- Dr. Zachary McCarty, O.D. – Participant on Panel V: Prescription Release and Consumer Choice. Dr. McCarty is the Chair of the Quality Improvement and Registry Committee for the AOA.
- Mr. Peter A. Menziuso – Participant on Panel VI: Looking Ahead: Potential Market Disruptions and Their Impact on Competition, Consumer Protection, and the Contact Lens Rule. Mr. Menziuso is President, North America, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
In addition to panelists, doctors of optometry from across all 50 states will attend the workshop and submit formal comments advocating for policy that increases patient safety and ensures access to high-quality vision health care.
Members of the press interested in learning more about the Alliance for Patient Safety or talking with Alliance advocates or panelists can visit www.patientsafetytoday.com.