# Optical Forums > General Optics and Eyecare Discussion Forum >  Are Certified Opticians obligated by law to redo glasses?

## jcxover2

We have an optometry practice that one of our opticians supposedly wrote out the wrong prescription to a patient.  The patient went somewhere for glasses but couldn't see well.  He brought it in to us and we realized it's the wrong prescription on 1 of the lenses.  We apologized and re-wrote the prescription and told the patient to have it "Redo".  The patient said the place (online possibly) won't let him redo it and that we should pay for the lenses.  He threatened to take us to small claims court.  Again, we apologize to him if we had initially written it wrong but we don't know why the dispensing place won't redo the lenses.

So is there a legal obligation for optician/ optical / optometry establishments to redo outside Rx's?

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## Fezz

I find it is good practice to own my mistakes and man up and fix them.

I consider it doing the right thing.

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## Uncle Fester

I'm no lawyer but I wouldn't want to face a judge in small claims court with this story as you have admitted the error was caused by your offices' negligence.

Sorry but that's how I see it.

Don't admit nothin is what I always says.

You may want to ask to see the receipt and pay for the one lens to be redone if it's cheaper (online).   :Wink:

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## optical24/7

Remakes at no charge or small charge are totally at the discretion of the business. We normally remake Dr Rx changes at no charge the 1st 60 days. We also self-warrant ( I pay for my mistakes). I would not be happy about remaking for no charge when the practitioner wrote the info wrong.

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## DrDL

I would say no on this one; they can operate as they see fit. The optical (online or not) made the glasses to the Rx that was written (correct or incorrect). It is your fault that your practice wrote out the Rx wrong from the patient's chart so you should reimburse the patient for the lenses (have them provide a receipt) or remake the lenses for the patient at no-charge. Had you written the correct Rx and the optical made them wrong, it would be the optical that would be at fault. The optical shouldn't be obligated to correct a mistake your practice made.

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## chaoticneutral

yeah, I think your sol on this one.  The judge will not look kindly on you.  The poor defenseless customer was wronged by the money hungry tyrannical conglomerate of evil. EVIL!

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## rbaker

This issue does not extend beyond your door. You screwed up and it is your obligation to make the customer whole.

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## drk

I think you'd be better off remaking it.  Why pay retail?

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## MakeOptics

> We have an optometry practice that one of our opticians supposedly wrote out the wrong prescription to a patient.  The patient went somewhere for glasses but couldn't see well.  He brought it in to us and we realized it's the wrong prescription on 1 of the lenses.  We apologized and re-wrote the prescription and told the patient to have it "Redo".  The patient said the place (online possibly) won't let him redo it and that we should pay for the lenses.  He threatened to take us to small claims court.  Again, we apologize to him if we had initially written it wrong but we don't know why the dispensing place won't redo the lenses.
> 
> So is there a legal obligation for optician/ optical / optometry establishments to redo outside Rx's?





> *It is an unfair act or practice for an ophthalmologist or optometrist to:*
> (a) Fail to provide to the patient one copy of the patient's prescription immediately after the eye examination is completed. Provided: An ophthalmologist or optometrist may refuse to give the patient a copy of the patient's prescription until the patient has paid for the eye examination, but only if that ophthalmologist or optometrist would have required immediate payment from that patient had the examination revealed that no ophthalmic goods were required;
> (b) Condition the availability of an eye examination to any person on a requirement that the patient agree to purchase any ophthalmic goods from the ophthalmologist or optometrist;
> (c) Charge the patient any fee in addition to the ophthalmologist's or optometrist's examination fee as a condition to releasing the prescription to the patient. Provided: An ophthalmologist or optometrist may charge an additional fee for verifying ophthalmic goods dispensed by another seller when the additional fee is imposed at the time the verification is performed; or
> *(d) Place on the prescription, or require the patient to sign, or deliver to the patient a form or notice waiving or disclaiming the liability or responsibility of the ophthalmologist or optometrist for the accuracy of the eye examination or the accuracy of the ophthalmic goods and services dispensed by another seller.*


The scenario sucks but you technically are in the wrong.  The place that made them should be on your don't go there list.  I would personally talk to the patient and let them know that it is customary for the dispensary to remake 1 time for a doctors error, however they do not have this policy.  In the Ophthalmic Prescription Rule you are allowed to charge a fee for verifying outside work, but you are not allowed to waive liability for the accuracy of the goods or your exam.

As the gatekeeper of the Rx you are faced with a double edged sword.

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## MakeOptics

> I think you'd be better off remaking it.  Why pay retail?


Ditto, good business practice and if your competitor was expensive I would print them out a receipt for the remake as well and place in the POS to make sure they have a constant reminder of what D-bags they bought glasses from.

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## CME4SPECS

If years ago we all had taken the stance that the person that provided the lenses, opticians and labs wouldn't be picking up the tab for others mistake. Good for them!

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## obxeyeguy

> We have an optometry practice that one of our opticians supposedly wrote out the wrong prescription to a patient.  The patient went somewhere for glasses but couldn't see well.  He brought it in to us and we realized it's the wrong prescription on 1 of the lenses.  We apologized and re-wrote the prescription and told the patient to have it "Redo".  The patient said the place (online possibly) won't let him redo it and that we should pay for the lenses.  He threatened to take us to small claims court.  Again, we apologize to him if we had initially written it wrong but we don't know why the dispensing place won't redo the lenses.
> 
> So is there a legal obligation for optician/ optical / optometry establishments to redo outside Rx's?


Seriously.




> The scenario sucks but you technically are in the wrong.  The place that made them should be on your don't go there list.  I would personally talk to the patient and let them know that it is customary for the dispensary to remake 1 time for a doctors error, however they do not have this policy.  In the Ophthalmic Prescription Rule you are allowed to charge a fee for verifying outside work, but you are not allowed to waive liability for the accuracy of the goods or your exam.
> 
> As the gatekeeper of the Rx you are faced with a double edged sword.


More seriously.  Where did this stupid practice enter our world. Does your pharmacy eat the drug your Doc gave you that made you break out in a rash?  Does your mechanic give you the part he thought was causing the problem, and wasn't?  How many of you change Rx's for free on a diabetic patient with a very erratic blood sugar?  My fault, hardly, Bucks up.   Clerical errors are unacceptable,and you should be held accountable for any costs incurred.





> Ditto, good business practice and if your competitor was expensive I would print them out a receipt for the remake as well and place in the POS to make sure they have a constant reminder of what D-bags they bought glasses from.


Let's see here, Doc writes the wrong script, optical shop refuses to pay to fix it, and they are the D-bags? 

Thanks, this thread made me laugh.  More food for "we are never responsible for anything we do" mentality of this country.  Rant off.

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## Barry Santini

This whole discussion is way too simplistic.

b

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## ex-optician

We had this happen before. The client could not see probably with new glasses. Compared them with old glasses and there was a 90 degree difference on the cyl. Explained our findings to the client and told him to go back to the Dr. He left feeling we were less then honest. He returned later with new RX and an offer from the Dr. to pay for the re-do. We declined the offer and took the hit. The client was impressed and has been a loyal customer since. This turned out to be a win win situation.

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## opty4062

To OP, why specify "certified" in the question? Just curious. Also, you say "supposedly" the optician wrote the script wrong. That should be easy enough to verify if you contact the office where the specs were made. 
As it seems you have determined the fault is on your end, why even question whether you owe it to your patient to make it right?

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## rdcoach5

No question that you should remake the lens or pay the bill for the lens to be remade. Next, the patient will still have trouble with the " correct" Rx . Then what do you do ? That's a different story. If it were our Dr. and he changed the Rx and the optical that made the glasses refused a free remake, our Doc would remake or repay the pt to have it remade.

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## Speed

> We have an optometry practice that one of our opticians supposedly wrote out the wrong prescription to a patient.  The patient went somewhere for glasses but couldn't see well.  He brought it in to us and we realized it's the wrong prescription on 1 of the lenses.  We apologized and re-wrote the prescription and told the patient to have it "Redo".  The patient said the place (online possibly) won't let him redo it and that we should pay for the lenses.  He threatened to take us to small claims court.  Again, we apologize to him if we had initially written it wrong but we don't know why the dispensing place won't redo the lenses.
> 
> So is there a legal obligation for optician/ optical / optometry establishments to redo outside Rx's?


Why don't you make the optician pay for it. Then maybe you won't lose the patient.   Really?   LOL.

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## drk

Be nice, Optiboard.

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## CCGREEN

I'm from Conservative old school. It might be "customary" for the lab to remake a lens due to a Dr/Opticians error, but that in no way OBLIGATES them to do it. It cost time and money to make lenses for a mistake that the lab had NOTHING to do with. Stuff like this is why it is so hard to make any money with a surface lab. This line of thinking is why our labs must jack up the price of their lenses for EVERYONE just trying to break even. And now EVERYONE has to pay for someone else's mistake that they do not want or feel a need to own up to.
Back in the day for me I got on a roll of jacking up several progressives in a row, upset my supervisor big time because I was costing the company money and costing him some bonus money. I was told one more and I'm out the door. Guess what, I tightened up and there was no more crap like that.
For some reason, (I blame it on judges and attorneys liberal way of thinking) society has this, "its someone else's fault that I am the way I am.

Hoping down off my stump now.

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## Chris Ryser

If you hold a Rx referring doctor responsible for mistakes...................he will just stop referring any patients to you.

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## matt2939

This exact scenario happened to me 2 years back when I took over a practice.  Previous doc used paper charts and had terrible handwriting.  Patient requested their glasses rx from previous doc's chart (which was a current rx), so we wrote it down and off the patient went.  Patient came back a few weeks later complaining we gave her the wrong rx.  Well after further inspection buried in the barely-legible notes there was a notation of a different script.  Patient threatened to take us to small claims court if we didn't redo the glasses at no charge.  I refused to redo the glasses myself because anyone that starts a conversation off that way I don't want as a customer, but I did request receipt and reimburse for the lenses.  Lesson learned - I never tried to interpret the previous doc's notes as a courtesy to the patient ever again - I just photocopied the non-legible charts and handed them over.  Now we have EMR so it's not a problem anymore.  1st thing is to figure out a process so it doesn't happen again.  2nd - you should probably reimburse the patient.  My 2 cents.

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## Uncle Fester

> Patient threatened to take us to small claims court if we didn't redo the glasses at no charge.  I refused to redo the glasses myself because anyone that starts a conversation off that way I don't want as a customer, but I did request receipt and reimburse for the lenses.


Big thumbs up for this kind of thinking. 

After 35+ years in the trenches I still get caught thinking this type of patient is worth the aggravation sure to come- just not as often.

Any newbie should take note!!!

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## CME4SPECS

> If you hold a Rx referring doctor responsible for mistakes...................he will just stop referring any patients to you.


THAT Sir, is exactly what I was referring to! Dr. writes an rx, that is no good, optician says doc don't worry about it I'll redo it. Had the opticians of yesteryear stood up and held the guilty party responsible, we wouldn't be dealing with this today. Now labs are even eating the errors by the drs.

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## SeaU2020

> Big thumbs up for this kind of thinking. 
> 
> After 35+ years in the trenches I still get caught thinking this type of patient is worth the aggravation sure to come- just not as often.
> 
> Any newbie should take note!!!


 Exactly! Dealing with an outside redo "in-house" is opening up a can of worms!

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## ex-optician

Many re-do's can be eliminated by paying attention to detail. I had the pleasure of working for a small independent when I was training to be an optician. When ever we had a new client we would neutralize the old glasses including B.C, O.C. height P.D. and lens design. We even put the markings back on progressives to check the fit. Even if we didn't find any thing wrong the customer was impressed. One of the common errors were from high to moderated myope's who purchased their glasses in Asia or the middle east the lenses were not decentered for P.D. in order to give a thinner edge thickness. We would advise the client and sometimes we found it necessary to reduce the difference by half for their first pair with us. Other times if we found a big discrepancy we would pull out the trail lens set and the snellen chart. If we found a problem we would very diplomatically call the doctor for a re-test. Some were co-operative others were not. Guess which ones we referred to for eye exams. This practice had some of the most loyal clientele I had ever served. Their files contained years of purchases for themselves and family members and a great source of referrals. It took a while for the clients to except me much like a barber shop were you will wait to be served by your favorite person.

Unfortunately in this fast paced and volume world of dispensing this kind of service is becoming harder to find. With all the discussion of competition with on-line purchases a strategy like this will separate you from the pack. The best business is repeat clients much easier then the cost involved on trying to constantly recruit new ones.

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## MakeOptics

> Seriously.
> 
> More seriously.  Where did this stupid practice enter our world. Does your pharmacy eat the drug your Doc gave you that made you break out in a rash?  Does your mechanic give you the part he thought was causing the problem, and wasn't?  How many of you change Rx's for free on a diabetic patient with a very erratic blood sugar?  My fault, hardly, Bucks up.   Clerical errors are unacceptable,and you should be held accountable for any costs incurred.
> 
> 
> Let's see here, Doc writes the wrong script, optical shop refuses to pay to fix it, and they are the D-bags? 
> 
> Thanks, this thread made me laugh.  More food for "we are never responsible for anything we do" mentality of this country.  Rant off.


100+ years ago when Opticians flourished they decided it would be best to not charge doctors for their mistakes to remain competitive and gain access to more scripts and referral sources then their competitors.  This set a standard practice that is customary today, I don't have to like it but I do work within those bounds.  Similarly 50+ years ago a progressive lens manufacturer set a non-adapt standard that is customary in practice today, that crap rolls uphill so I guess that particular scenario wouldn't elicit a response.  There are a lot of laws and customs that don't make sense, this is an example of one of them but the office that is not remaking the lenses is practicing outside the norm.

The doctor BY LAW (The Ophthalmic Practices Rule) cannot force a patient to purchase eyewear from his location, but if the patient goes elsewhere the doctor is liable for it.  This is the kind of jacked thinking that is a mess.  For me this wouldn't be an issue, I track remakes and outside scripts.  I have no problem refusing a doctors scripts if they make too many mistakes, but to err is human and to send referrals my way is GODLY.

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## mervinek

About that progressive non-adapt... I find technology is pretty good now... How many non-adapts do you really see?

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## MakeOptics

In hindsight maybe my views on the subject are way off, I'm going to have to learn more from the senior opticians.

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## Speed

You can't buy good will from a lab or frame vendor.  Consider each opportunity seriously.

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## scriptfiller

When people fix other people's mistakes things can get expensive.  Do the right thing and accept responsibility.  BTW EHR's reduce this dramatically, maybe it's time to join the 21st. century.

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## Speed

By the way, is it legal for an optician to write Rxs in L.A. ?

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## DrDL

> By the way, is it legal for an optician to write Rxs in L.A. ?


Not likely but check with your state board on this one. Should be easy enough info to find.

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