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Prescription expiry

A398
You must include an expiry date on the contact lens specification.148 
A399
You should use your professional judgement to decide the expiry date, which would normally be when the patient is due their next clinical review. See section on Contact lens check-ups.
A400
Factors to consider when you determine the expiry date include: 
  1. the type of contact lens
  2. modality of wear
  3. the clinical features of the patient.
A401
If the expiry date and the next clinical review date are not the same, you should include both dates on the specification.
A402
You should tell the patient when their next clinical review is due.
A403
You should tell patients that they cannot be supplied with contact lenses once their contact lens specification has expired. The patient  must be refitted before the specification expires to ensure an uninterrupted supply of contact lenses. See section on Contact lens supply for more information and details of aftercare. 
A404
You should tell patients that: 
  1. it is important to have regular eye examinations as well as contact lens check-ups
  2. they need a valid spectacle prescription to be refitted with contact lenses.

References

148 Opticians Act 1989 s25(7a) [Accessed 1 Nov 2023]