As of Jan. 1, 2018, consumers will no longer be able to purchase soft contact lenses without a prescription. The price of both contact lenses and contact lens fittings with eye examination are expected to rise after December 31, 2017, so now is the time to come in for a professional evaluation.
According to the Ministry of Health, the new law is aimed at, on the one hand, protecting the patient’s ocular health, and on the other hand, not causing the price of contact lenses to get out of control. Prior to a decade-and-a-half ago, contact lenses were not sold in pharmacies in Israel. However, that changed when two-week and daily disposable modalities became available on an over-the-counter basis. Optometrists and ophthalmologists banded together to change the law, which took more than a decade to compose.
The new law does not stipulate that an annual eye examination is mandatory (no expiration date), nor any sort of follow-up visit after the prescription is issued, nor does it require that only a registered pharmacist can fill the prescription in the drugstore. Thus, a compromise took place between countries that have no Rx requirement (for example, Thailand), vs. those civilized countries that require an initial eye examination with a professional contact lens fitting, followed by periodic progress checkups.
Contact us to come in for an eye examination and contact lens fitting.
