By: Saya Nagori –

The Rhode Island General Assembly is currently considering a bill, H-5674, that would restrict emerging telehealth technologies and legislate standards of care. Physicians go through rigorous schooling, training and licensing and we trust them to make the best treatment decisions. In the case of H-5674, optometrists are trying to use legislation to dictate how doctors treat patients.

This legislation takes aim at emerging telehealth technology that solves a simple problem: 79 percent of the time a contact lens user visits an optometrist to renew a prescription, they are reissued the same prescription. These trips are costly and time-consuming, causing many patients to wear their lenses beyond the recommended time frame, one of the leading causes of eye health issues for contact lens wearers.

Read More