his has been in the works for several years and it was finally released and published on the organization's website. The National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) is comprised of the managed vision care plans that provide routine eye care, glasses and contacts to their members; VSP, EyeMed, Versant, etc. They promote advocacy for vision care benefits, administrative simplification and industry collaboration.

A common question in teleoptometry is, "Do the VCP's cover telemedicine services?" and there hasn't been a very good answer because there hasn't been an official policy.

Yesterday (July 8, 2020) , the NAVCP put out this press release announcing the approval of a policy statement for the organization. There was input from a wide variety of stakeholders and I was able to contribute as a member of the Ocular SIG of the American Telemedicine Association and a member of Vision Source. While they didn't put in all of the suggestions from these groups, they did capture "Rule #1," which states that providers must use all available information to do whatever is in the best interest of the patient.

The various plans are not obligated to follow these guidelines, but are expected to quickly develop clear policies with this policy paper at the core.

This is a pretty big step. We would love to know what you think.