Connecticut optometrists are joining their colleagues across the country in pushing back against new technology that allows consumers to get prescriptions for contact lenses and glasses online.
They're arguing that potential medical problems can be overlooked without a face-to-face exam from a doctor.
Montville state Rep. Kevin Ryan, who holds a doctor of optometry degree, says people are taking a risk by using the online tests. He's proposed a bill that would require face-to-face exams for contact lens prescriptions.
House Bill 6012, introduced by the Public Health Committee, takes aim at the new technology and seeks to regulate it .
The purpose is "to protect consumers from dubious technology that can compromise well-accepted standards of care and place a patient's health at risk.”
"Technology doesn't support for it to be done remotely," said Dr. Brian Lynch of the Connecticut Association of Optometrists.
Lynch said smartphone apps are popping up that let patients check their eyes, including Simple Contacts app, which lets users renew prescriptions for contact lenses through the phone. But contact prescriptions expire every year and renewing contacts from home could cause harm.
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"It’s about prevention and appropriate care and the only way that can be done is in person," Lynch argued.
But proponents of these limited eye exams argue they provide both financial savings and convenience.
Chicago-based Opternative is one of several companies offering the technology and is fighting bill. Its test involves using a smartphone as a remote control to indicate what the patient sees on a computer screen.
Ophthalmologist Dr. Steven Thornquist said while he didn’t support the technology for contacts, it could work for glasses.
"Why make him come in if all he needs is a new pair of glasses?" Thornquist said.
There hasn’t been a date set in the senate to vote on the bill, so for now the technology is available in Connecticut.
