Johnson & Johnson Vision's Peter Menziuso (l) joined AOA president Chris Quinn, OD, (r) to discuss eye health and vision safety priorities with Rep. Michael Burgess, MD.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—American Optometry Association (AOA) president Chris Quinn and Johnson & Johnson Vision’s North America president Peter Menziuso led an industry group’s meetings earlier this week at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Capitol Hill.

At the FDA, Johnson & Johnson Vision and AOA had an opportunity to meet with regulators and to indicate the perspective of the eyecare community and its continuing support for the classification of contact lenses as medical devices (which means they require doctor oversight and supervision) and strong safety standards that help ensure contact lenses are never purchased without a valid prescription, according to a Johnson & Johnson Vision statement.

According to AOA, the meeting with FDA regulators was intended as a way to identify collaborative efforts that would ensure patient safety in the contact lens marketplace. The FDA underscored its commitment to patient health and encouraged doctors to report contact lens adverse events through its online reporting process, according to AOA.

Following the FDA meeting, Dr. Quinn addressed the Federal Trade Commission’s much-debated proposal for updating its Contact Lens Rule, According to AOA, the FTC’s proposal would “force about 50,000 eye doctors to obtain a signed document from every contact lens patient confirming receipt of each new contact lens prescription…. AOA contends this is both an unnecessary and costly regulatory burden.”

In meetings on Capitol Hill, Dr. Quinn and Menziuso continued the conversation about patient safety— encouraging Congressional members to take action to reintroduce the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act and improve the way prescribers and sellers communicate and verify contact lens prescriptions.

“I was proud to join Dr. Quinn in our nation’s capital to speak to regulators and lawmakers about our shared priorities for patients and the profession,” Menziuso said. “We look forward to working together in the year ahead to support policies that put eye health and vision safety first.”

Menziuso also raised Johnson & Johnson Vision’s support for patient safeguards, including one-year CL prescription expiration dates, non-substitution of prescribed CL brands and comprehensive eye exams.