Issue: Under the laws of Texas, may a contact lens manufacturer dispense contact lenses by mail either directly to the consumer or to the consumer’s physician?
| Area of Law: | Administrative Law, Administrative Law & Regulation (Federal and State) |
| Keywords: | Contact lens manufacturer; Contact lens dispensing services by mail; License requirements |
| Jurisdiction: | Texas |
| Cited Cases: | None |
| Cited Statutes: | Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. arts. 4551-1, § 3(d); 4552-1.02(5); exas Board of Health, id. at art. 4551-1, § 4(a), (b); §§ 7(a); 8(a), (b); art. 4552-5.09; art. 4551-1, § 3(2), § 13(g), § 13(c), § 13(a); Tex. Admin. Code tit. 25, § 129.2 |
| Date: | 02/01/2001 |
In Texas, dispensing opticians or ophthalmic dispensers*FN1 provide contact lens dispensing services and products to the public upon a physician’s or optometrist’s prescription. Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. arts. 4551-1, § 3(d); 4552-1.02(5) (Supp. 1993). A contact lens dispenser must register with the Texas Board of Health, id. at art. 4551-1, § 4(a), (b), and must pay a fee, complete no more than thirty hours of classroom training and pass an examination, id. §§ 7(a); 8(a), (b). Texas does not appear to recognize out-of-state licensure. Advertising of prescription lenses is subject to various restrictions in Texas. See id. at art. 4552-5.09.
Contact lens dispensing functions include the fabrication, ordering, mechanical adjustment, dispensing, sale and delivery of the contact lenses to the consumer. Id. at art. 4551-1, § 3(2). A seemingly conflicting provision provides, however, that the statute does not "require . . . that a person be registered under this Act in order to engage in the sale or dispensing of contact lenses." Id. § 13(g). Further, a person who works in a wholesale laboratory (manufacturing facility) fabricating contact lenses need not register if the lenses are not sold directly to the public. Id. Nor does the Act prevent a firm from employing a registered dispenser to perform the dispensing functions at the location where the dispensing occurs. Id. § 13(c). Doctors and optometrists are also not subject to the dispensing requirements. Id. § 13(a).
Due to the apparently conflicting statutory provisions, it is unclear whether contact lens dispensing may be […]